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TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 



THE MACMILLAN COMPANY 

NEW YORK • BOSTON • CHICAGO 
SAN FRANCISCO 

MACMILLAN & CO , Limited 

LONDON • BOMBAY • CALCUTTA 
MELBOURNE 

THE MACMILLAN CO. OF CANADA. Ltd. 

TORONTO 



WE HAD ACTUALLY BEGUN OUR LONG, LONG 
JOURNEY 



TWO YEARS 
BEFORE THE MAST 

A 

PERSONAL NARRATIVE OF 

LIFE AT SEA 

BY 
RICHARD HENRY DANA, JR. 

WITH AN INTRODUCTION BY 
SIR WILFRED GRENFELL 

AND ILLUSTRATIONS BY 

CHARLES PEARS 
Crowded in the rank and narrow ship, — 



Housed on the wild sea with wild usages, — 
Whate'er in the inland dales the land conceals 
Of fair and exquisite, 1 nothing, nothing. 
Do we behold of that in our rude voyage. 

Coleridge's Wallknstein. 



THE MACMILLAN COMPANY 
1911 

Ail righU reserved 






^/ 



Copyright, 1911, 
By the MACMILLAN COMPANY. 



Set up and electrotyped. Published October, 1911. 



Notfaooli J3rega 

J. 8. Gushing Co. — Berwick & Smith Co. 

Norwood, Mass., U.S.A. 



©CI.A297528 



INTRODUCTION 

It was my lot to go to sea among the deep sea fisher- 
men on the German Ocean while all the fishing was still 
carried on in sailing vessels, and to remain working with 
them until every sailing fleet afloat had been replaced by 
similar fleets of small iron steamers, or, as the fishermen 
called them, " tin kettles." 

These dirty, hustling little crafts " made more money " 
for the owners, and also gave the fishermen the opportu- 
nity of more frequent visits to the ports to replenish the 
coal bunkers, — the visits were of doubtful advantage. 
But with the change the romance and picturesqueness of 
the industry passed. Smoky funnels and blackened masts 
replaced clean decks and attractive sails. Sundays be- 
came no longer days of rest, on which the various craft 
tidied up, preening their feathers, and resting like flocks 
of dainty birds on the ocean while the skippers went 
a-visiting. Drive — Drive — Drive — became the order of 
the day. Captains who won't work Sundays must now 
stay ashore, with a consequent loss of many of the attri- 
butes of the simple religious faith which had been the 
charm of so many of these modern Vikings. We realized 
we were poorer when the tyranny of commercialism came 
afloat. 

There is probably no unmixed good in the world, and 
the perusal of this classical account of personal experiences 
of life on merchant sailing vessels is evidence, as the author 
frankly admits, that there were some things that called for 
improvement to make it an ideal profession. But in spite 
of that, there will be few who will not feel with me that 
the world is poorer for the loss of a school of life that, in 
these days of luxury, enervation, and nervous instability. 



vi INTRODUCTION 

we can ill afford to dispense with. There are lessons 
taught in the school of the Vikings that could contribute 
desirable traits to character even to-day. 

The " lure of the sea" has ever been a most potent factor 
in the history of the Anglo-Saxon race. The " genius of 
the sea " has been among the most precious of the heritages 
given us by God. Hence the old adage, 

" One Johnny Crapeau, two Portuguee, 
One Jolly Englishman can lick 'em all three." 

The maintenance of sea power, his proud boast of ruling 
the waves, has been achieved as surely by our merchant- 
men as by our men of war. Even our literature, our 
poetry, and our art, are debtors in no small degree to our 
love of the adventures of the sea. Tales of Drake, of 
Hawkins and Nelson, of Cabot and Cook and Raleigh, of 
Franklin and Kane and Greely, are as stimulating factors 
in character building as any ever told ; and, after all, the 
world is recognizing that the development of character is 
the greatest end of life. 

A sense of a man's insignificance in the economy of 
Nature was not disadvantageously impressed upon him 
when he went to sea, realizing, as he must always do in 
sailing vessels, his dependence to some extent on powers 
beyond his control. A voyage had alw^ays the element of 
adventure, the elimination of which is but poorly compen- 
sated for by the velocity and monotony of a modern ocean 
crossing. The resourcefulness, manliness, physical fitness, 
and fearlessness bred of his environment have given the 
able-bodied sailor the right to his title of a " handy man," 
quite as proud and serviceable as any " Duke of Bilge- 
water." 

His optimism, his capacity to grin and bear hardness, 
puts to shame the peevishness of our ready-to-complain 
age, while the discipline that the necessarily arbitrary 
power of the skipper at sea made it possible to maintain, 
even if it was occasionally abused, still added an asset to 
character that is more valuable than fine gold. 



INTRODUCTION vii 

The very fact that the construction of these sailing ships 
necessitated the very best workmanship as against the 
cheapest product, and that they simply had to be solid 
rather than showy, that the running gear had to be kept, 
at any expense, ready for all emergencies, that unstinted 
time was devoted to cleanliness and smart appearance — 
all these carried practical everyday lessons of no small 
worth. The world, at any rate, paid it the compliment of 
inventing the word " ship-shape." 

Again, the calling involved real work, wideawakeness, 
little luxury, and their accompanying goodfellowship and 
contempt for conventionalities. Who ever heard more 
than Jack or Bill used as a name for a sailor .■" In addition, 
the men got an acquaintance with God's open air, a free- 
dom from the presumption of Hfe, and as a rule a freedom 
also from the sordid greed of gold for its own sake, and a 
generous, open-minded nature. The language had the 
infinite advantages of brevity, forcefulness, and expres- 
siveness, even if occasionally lurid and at the risk of a 
landsman failing to understand it. Bowlines and bunts, 
clewlines and tackles, tyes and catlocks, jiggers and cross- 
backs, geswarps and knightheads, gaskets and guys, 
sheepshanks and turksheads, studding and royal sails, — 
all carry an air of mystery about them that, combined with 
the real adventure of a life on the sea, will perhaps attract 
more boys to read and absorb lessons which they would 
only despise if they were flung at their heads out of a 
copybook or catechism. The mental picture of the cheer- 
ful, hardy, powerful fellow "hitching up his slack" and 
perhaps pulling his forelock as he starts in with a sea yarn 
is a further reason why such a book as this should find ever 
a warmer welcome. 

If we cannot prevent the passing of the sailing ship, let 
us at least prevent the passing of the few accounts extant 
which deal with the subject from the inside point of view. 
Books of the sea, of this type and that, of Westward-Ho, 
or the voyages of Cook or Anson, afford a mental pabulum 
for the young Anglo-Saxon, with a caloric value for his 
character equal to that of his mother's milk for his physique. 



viii INTRODUCTION 

A debt of gratitude is certainly due for a new edition of 
this delightful and stimulating classic. For my part, I 
would far rather have my boy familiar with it than with 
many of the " hundred best books," a list of which was 
published recently. 

WILFRED T. GRENFELL. 
S. S. Strathcona, 

At Sea, August, 19H. 



ILLUSTRATIONS 

" We had actually begun our long, long journey " . Frontispiece ^ 

FACING PAGE 

" Under double-reefed topsails " 461 

"'Man overboard!'" 46^^ 

" Approaching the island of Juan Fernandez " . . . .46^ 

" We threw the oars as far from the boat as we could " . . 64 >^ 

" Tossing Hides " 100 ^/ 

*' The captain ordered him to be cut down " . . . .116 

"He dived, throwing his tail high in the air" . . . . 148 

Curing the Hides 168 ' 

" One of the Kanakas, putting the letter into his hat, swam off 

after the vessel " . 188 

"Keeping hold of the rope with one hand, I scrambled in" . 218 

"With the greatest rapidity possible, everything was sheeted 

home and hoisted up " 250 - 

" He placed his hat directly upon her head " . . . . 270 

Steeving 298 

"The sea washed the ship fore and aft" 314 1 

" An immense irregular mass " 328 ' 

" The field ice covered the ocean for miles and miles " . . 328 

"'Hold on another time, you young monkey' " .... 370 

" Empty tar barrels were set on fire and thrown overboard " . 382 v 



TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 



CHAPTER I 

I AM unwilling to present this narrative to the public with- 
out a few words in explanation of my reasons for publish- 
ing it. Since Mr. Cooper's Pilot and Red Rover, there 
have been so many stories of sea-life written, that I should 
really think it unjustifiable in me to add one to the number 
without being able to give reasons in some measure war- 
ranting me in so doing. 

With the single exception, as I am quite confident, of Mr. 
Ames's entertaining, but hasty and desultory work, called 
"Mariner's Sketches," all the books professing to give hfe 
at sea have been written by persons who have gained their 
experience as naval officers, or passengers, and of these, 
there are very few which are intended to be taken as nar- 
ratives of facts. 

Now, in the first place, the whole course of life, and daily 
duties, the discipline, habits and customs of a man-of-war 
are very different from those of the merchant service ; and 
in the next place, however entertaining and well written 
these books may be, and however accurately they may 
give sea-life as it appears to their authors, it must still be 
plain to every one that a naval officer, who goes to sea as a 
gentleman, "with his gloves on," (as the phrase is,) and 
who associates only with his fellow-officers, and hardly 
speaks to a sailor except through a boatswain's mate, must 
take a very different view of the whole matter from that 
which would be taken by a common sailor. 

Besides the interest which every one must feel in ex- 
hibitions of life in those forms in which he himself has never 



2 TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 

experienced it ; there has been, of late years, a great deal of 
attention directed toward common seamen, and a strong 
sympathy awakened in their behalf. Yet I believe that, 
with the single exception which I have mentioned, there 
has not been a book written, professing to give their life and 
experiences, by one who has been of them, and can know 
what their life really is. A voice from the forecastle has 
hardly yet been heard. 

In the following pages I design to give an accurate and 
authentic narrative of a little more than two years spent as 
a common sailor, before the mast, in the American merchant 
service. It is written out from a journal which I kept at 
the time, and from notes which I made of most of the events 
as they happened ; and in it I have adhered closely to fact 
in every particular, and endeavored to give each thing its 
true character. In so doing, I have been obliged occasion- 
ally to use strong and coarse expressions, and in some in- 
stances to give scenes which may be painful to nice feelings ; 
but I have very carefully avoided doing so, whenever I have 
not felt them essential to giving the true character of a scene. 
My design is, and it is this which has induced me to publish 
the book, to present the life of a common sailor at sea as it 
really is, — the light and the dark together. 

There may be in some parts a good deal that is unintel- 
ligible to the general reader; but I have found from my 
own experience, and from what I have heard from others, 
that plain matters of fact in relation to customs and habits 
of life new to us, and descriptions of life under new aspects, 
act upon the inexperienced through the imagination, so 
that we are hardly aware of our want of technical knowledge. 
Thousands read the escape of the American frigate through 
the British channel, and the chase and wreck of the Bristol 
trader in the Red Rover, and follow the minute nautical 
manoeuvres with breathless interest, who do not know the 
name of a rope in the ship ; and perhaps with none the less 
admiration and enthusiasm for their want of acquaintance 
with the professional detail. 



TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 3 

In preparing this narrative I have carefully avoided in- 
corporating into it any impressions but those made upon 
me by the events as they occurred, leaving to my conclud- 
ing chapter, to which I shall respectfully call the reader's 
attention, those views which have been suggested to me by 
subsequent reflection. 

These reasons, and the advice of a few friends, have led 
me to give this narrative to the press. If it shall interest 
the general reader, and call more attention to the welfare 
of seamen, or give any information as to their real con- 
dition, which may serve to raise them in the rank of beings, 
and to promote in any measure their religious and moral 
improvement, and diminish the hardships of their daily life, 
the end of its pubhcation will be answered. 

R..H. D., Jr. 

Boston, July, 1840. 

DEPARTURE 

The fourteenth of August was the day fixed upon for the 
sailing of the brig Pilgrim on her voyage from Boston round 
Cape Horn to the western coast of North America. As she 
was to get under weigh early in the afternoon, I made my 
appearance on board at twelve o'clock, in full sea-rig, and 
with my chest, containing an outfit for a two or three years' 
voyage, which I had undertaken from a determination to 
cure, if possible, by an entire change of life, and by a long 
absence from books and study, a weakness of the eyes, which 
had obliged me to give up my pursuits, and which no medical 
aid seemed likely to cure. 

The change from the tight dress coat, silk cap, and kid 
gloves of an undergraduate at Cambridge, to the loose duck 
trowsers, checked shirt and tarpaulin hat of a sailor, though 
somewhat of a transformation, was soon made, and I sup- 
posed that I should pass very well for a jack tar. But it is 
impossible to deceive the practiced eye in these matters; 
and while I supposed myself to be looking as salt as Nep- 



4 TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 

tune himself, I was, no doubt, known for a landsman by 
every one on board as soon as I hove in sight, A sailor 
has a peculiar cut to his clothes, and a way of wearing them 
which a green hand can never get. The trowsers, tight 
round the hips, and thence hanging long and loose round 
the feet, a superabundance of checked shirt, a low-crowned, 
well varnished black hat, worn on the back of the head, with 
half a fathom of black ribbon hanging over the left eye, and 
a peculiar tie to the black silk neckerchief, with sundry 
other minutiae, are signs, the want of which betray the begin- 
ner, at once. Beside the points in my dress which were out 
of the way, doubtless my complexion and hands were enough 
to distinguish me from the regular salt, who, with a sun- 
burnt cheek, wide step, and rolling gait, swings his bronzed 
and toughened hands athwart-ships, half open, as though 
just ready to grasp a rope. 

" With all my imperfections on my head," I joined the 
crew, and we hauled out into the stream, and came to anchor 
for the night. The next day we were employed in prepa- 
rations for sea, reeving studding-sail gear, crossing royal 
yards, putting on chafing gear, and taking on board our 
powder. On the following night, I stood my first watch. 
I remained awake nearly all the first part of the night 
from fear that I might not hear when I was called; and 
when I went on deck, so great were my ideas of the impor- 
tance of my trust, that I walked regularly fore and aft the 
whole length of the vessel, looking out over the bows and 
taffrail at each turn, and was not a little surprised at the 
coolness of the old salt whom I called to take my place, 
in stowing himself snugly away under the long boat, for 
a nap. That was a sufficient lookout, he thought, for a 
fine night, at anchor in a safe harbor. 

The next morning was Saturday, and a breeze having 
sprung up from the southward, we took a pilot on board, 
hove up our anchor, and began beating down the bay. 
I took leave of those of my friends who came to see me off, 
and had barely opportunity to take a last look at the city, 



TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 5 

and well-known objects, as no time is allowed on board 
ship for sentiment. As we drew down into the lower 
harbor, we found the wind ahead in the bay, and were 
obliged to come to anchor in the roads. We remained 
there through the day and a part of the night. My watch 
began at eleven o'clock at night, and I received orders to 
call the captain if the wind came out from the westward. 
About midnight the wind became fair, and having called 
the captain, I was ordered to call all hands. How I ac- 
complished this I do not know, but I am quite sure that 
I did not give the true hoarse, boatswain call of "A-a-11 
ha-a-a-nds ! up anchor, a-ho-oy !" In a short time every 
one was in motion, the sails loosed, the yards braced, and 
we began to heave up the anchor, which was our last hold 
upon Yankee land. I could take but little part in all these 
preparations. My little knowledge of a vessel was all at 
fault. Unintelligible orders were so rapidly given and so 
immediately executed; there was such a hurrying about, 
and such an intermingling of strange cries and stranger 
actions, that I was completely bewildered. There is not 
so helpless and pitiable an object in the world as a lands- 
man beginning a sailor's life. At length those peculiar, 
long-drawn sounds, which denote that the crew are heaving 
at the windlass, began, and in a few moments we were 
under weigh. The noise of the water thrown from the bows 
began to be heard, the vessel leaned over from the damp 
night breeze, and rolled with the heavy ground swell, 
and we had actually begun our long, long journey. This 
was literally bidding "good night" to my native land. 

\ 



CHAPTER II 

The first day we passed at sea was the Sabbath. As we 
were just from port, and there was a great deal to be done 
on board, we were kept at work all day, and at night the 
watches were set, and everything put into sea order. When 
we were called aft to be divided into watches, I had a good 
specimen of the manner of a sea captain. After the divi- 
sion had been made, he gave a short characteristic speech, 
walking the quarter deck with a cigar in his mouth, and 
dropping the words out between the puffs. 

"Now, my men, we have begun a long voyage. If we 
get along well together, we shall have a comfortable time ; 
if we don't, we shall have hell afloat. — All you've got to 
do is to obey your orders and do your duty like men, — 
then you'll fare well enough ; — if you don't, you'll fare hard 
enough, — I can tell you. If we pull together, you'll find 
me a clever fellow; if we don't, you'll find me a bloody 
rascal. — That's all I've got to say. — Go below, the 
larboard watch ! " 

I being in the starboard or second mate's watch, had the 

opportunity of keeping the first watch at sea. S , a 

young man, making, like myself, his first voyage, was in 
the same watch, and as he was the son of a professional 
man, and had been in a counting-room in Boston, we found 
that we had many friends and topics in common. We 
talked these matters over, — Boston, what our friends were 
probably doing, our voyage, etc., until he went to take his 
turn at the look-out, and left me to myself. I had now 
a fine time for reflection. I felt for the first time the per- 
fect silence of the sea. The officer was walking the quarter 
deck, where I had no right to go, one or two men were 
talking on the forecastle, whom I had little inclination to 

6 



TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 7 

Join, so that I was left open to the full impression of every- 
thing about me. However much I was affected by the 
beauty of the sea, the bright stars, and the clouds driven 
swiftly over them, I could not but remember that I was 
separating myself from all the social and intellectual enjoy- 
ments of Hfe. Yet, strange as it may seem, I did then 
and afterwards take pleasure in these reflections, hoping 
by them to prevent my becoming insensible to the value 
of what I was leaving. 

But all my dreams were soon put to flight by an order 
from the officer to trim the yards, as the wind was getting 
ahead ; and I could plainly see by the looks the sailors occa- 
sionally cast to windward, and by the dark clouds that were 
fast coming up, that we had bad weather to prepare for, and 
had heard the captain say that he expected to be in the 
Gulf Stream by twelve o'clock. In a few minutes eight 
bells were struck, the watch called, and we went below. 
I now began to feel the first discomforts of a sailor's life. 
The steerage in which I lived was filled with coils of rigging, 
spare sails, old junk and ship stores, which had not been 
stowed away. Moreover, there had been no berths built 
for us to sleep in, and we were not allowed to drive nails 
to hang our clothes upon. The sea, too, had risen, the 
vessel was rolling heavily, and everything was pitched about 
in grand confusion. There was a complete "hurrah's 
nest," as the sailors say, "everything on top and nothing 
at hand." A large hawser had been coiled away upon my 
chest ; my hats, boots, mattress and blankets had all fetched 
away and gone over to leeward, and were jammed and 
broken under the boxes and coils of rigging. To crown all, 
we were allowed no light to find anything with, and I was just 
beginning to feel strong symptoms of sea-sickness, and that 
listlessness and inactivity which accompany it. Giving 
up all attempts to collect my things together, I lay down 
upon the sails, expecting every moment to hear the cry of 
"all hands, ahoy," which the approaching storm would soon 
make necessary. I shortly heard the rain-drops falling on 



8 TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 

deck, thick and fast, and the watch evidently had their 
hands full of work, for I could hear the loud and repeated 
orders of the mate, the trampling of feet, the creaking of 
blocks, and all the accompaniments of a coming storm. In 
a few minutes the slide of the hatch was thrown back, which 
let down the noise and tumult of the deck still louder, the 
loud cry of "All hands, ahoy ! tumble up here and take in 
sail," saluted our ears, and the hatch was quickly shut 
again. When I got upon deck, a new scene and a new ex- 
perience were before me. The little brig was close hauled 
upon the wind, and lying over, as it then seemed to me, 
nearly upon her beam ends. The heavy head sea was 
beating against her bows with the noise and force almost 
of a sledge hammer, and flying over the deck, drenching us 
completely through. The topsail halyards had been let 
go, and the great sails were filling out and backing against 
the masts with a noise like thunder. The wind was whis- 
tling through the rigging, loose ropes flying about ; loud and, 
to me, unintelligible orders constantly given and rapidly 
executed, and the sailors "singing out" at the ropes in their 
hoarse and peculiar strains. In addition to all this, I had 
not got my "sea legs on," was dreadfully sick, with hardly 
strength enough to hold on to anything, and it was "pitch 
dark." This was my state when I was ordered aloft, for 
the first time, to reef topsails. 

How I got along, I cannot now remember. I "laid out" 
on the yards and held on with all my strength. I could 
not have been of much service, for I remember having been 
sick several times before I left the topsail yard. Soon all 
was snug aloft, and we were again allowed to go below. 
This I did not consider much of a favor, for the confusion 
of everything below, and that inexpressible sickening 
smell, caused by the shaking up of the bilge- water in the 
hold, made the steerage but an indifferent refuge from the 
cold, wet decks. I had often read of the nautical experi- 
ences of others, but I felt as though there could be none 
worse than mine ; for in addition to every other evil, I could 



TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 9 

not but remember that this was only the first night of a 
two years' voyage. When we were on deck we were not 
much better off, for we were continually ordered about by 
the ofl&cer, who said that it was good for us to be in motion. 
Yet anything was better than the horrible state of things 
below. I remember very well going to the hatchway and 
putting my head down, when I was oppressed by nausea 
and always being reUeved immediately. It was as good 
as an emetic. 

This state of things continued for two days. 

Wednesday, Aug. 20th. We had the watch on deck 
from four till eight, this morning. When we came on 
deck at four o'clock, we found things much changed for the 
better. The sea and wind had gone down, and the stars 
were out bright. I experienced a corresponding change 
in my feelings; yet continued extremely weak from my 
sickness. I stood in the waist on the weather side, watch- 
ing the gradual breaking of the day, and the first streaks 
of the early light. Much has been said of the sun-rise at 
sea; but it will not compare with the sun-rise on shore. 
It wants the accompaniments of the songs of birds, the 
awakening hum of men, and the glancing of the first beams 
upon trees, hills, spires, and house-tops, to give it life and 
spirit. But though the actual rise of the sun at sea is not so 
beautiful, yet nothing will compare with the early breaking 
of day upon the wide ocean. 

There is something in the first grey streaks stretching 
along the eastern horizon and throwing an indistinct Hght 
upon the face of the deep, which combines with the bound- 
lessness and unknown depth of the sea around you, and 
gives one a feeling of loneliness, of dread, and of melancholy 
foreboding, which nothing else in nature can give. This 
gradually passes away as the light grows brighter, and 
when the sun comes up, the ordinary monotonous sea day 
begins. 

From such reflections as these, I was aroused by the order 
from the officer, "Forward there! rig the head-pump!" 



lo TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 

I found that no time was allowed for day-dreaming, but 
that we must "turn-to" at the first light. Having called 
up the "idlers," namely carpenter, cook, steward, etc., 
and rigged the pump, we commenced washing down the 
decks. This operation, which is performed every morning 
at sea, takes nearly two hours ; and I had hardly strength 
enough to get through it. After we had finished, swabbed 
down, and coiled up the rigging, I sat down on the spars, 
waiting for seven bells, which was the sign for breakfast. 
The officer, seeing my lazy posture, ordered me to slush 
the main-mast, 1 from the royal-mast-head, down. The 
vessel was then rolling a little, and I had taken no sus- 
tenance for three days, so that I felt tempted to tell him 
that I had rather wait till after breakfast ; but I knew that 
I must "take the bull by the horns," and that if I showed 
any sign of want of spirit or of backwardness, that I should 
be ruined at once. So I took my bucket of grease and 
climbed up to the royal-mast-head. Here the rocking 
of the vessel, which increases the higher you go from the 
foot of the mast, which is the fulcrum of the lever, and the 
smell of the grease, which offended my fastidious senses, up- 
set my stomach again, and I was not a little rejoiced when 
I got upon the comparative terra firma of the deck. In a 
few minutes seven bells were struck, the log hove, the 
watch called, and we went to breakfast. Here I cannot 
but remember the advice of the cook, a simple-hearted 
African. "Now," says he, "my lad, you are well cleaned 
out; you haven't got a drop of your 'long-shore swash 
aboard of you. You must begin on a new tack, — pitch 
all your sweetmeats overboard, and turn-to upon good 
hearty salt beef and sea bread, and I'll promise you, you'll 
have your ribs well sheathed, and be as hearty as any of 
'em, afore you are up to the Horn." This would be good 
advice to give to passengers, when they speak of the little 
niceties which they have laid in, in case of sea-sickness. 

I cannot describe the change which half a pound of cold 
salt beef and a biscuit or two produced in me. I was a new 



TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST ii 

being. We had a watch below until noon, so that I had 
some time to myself; and getting a huge piece of strong, 
cold, salt beef from the cook, I kept gnawing upon it until 
twelve o'clock. When we went on deck I felt somewhat 
like a man, and could begin to learn my sea duty with con- 
siderable spirit. At about two o'clock we heard the loud 
cry of "sail ho!" from aloft, and soon saw two sails to 
windward, going directly athwart our hawse. This was 
the first time that I had seen a sail at sea. I thought then, 
and have always since, that it exceeds every other sight in 
interest and beauty. They passed to leeward of us, and 
out of hailing distance; but the captain could read the 
names on their sterns with the glass. They were the ship 
Helen Mar, of New York, ,and the brig Mermaid, of Boston. 
They were both steering westward, and were bound in for 
our "dear native land." 

Thursday, Aug. 21st. This day the sun rose clear, we 
had a fine wind, and everything was bright and cheerful. 
I had now got my sea legs on, and was beginning to enter 
upon the regular duties of a sea-life. About six bells, that 
is, three o'clock, p.m., we saw a sail on our larboard bow. 
I was very anxious, like every new sailor, to speak her. 
She came down to us, backed her main-top-sail, and the 
two vessels stood "head on," bowing and curvetting at 
each other like a couple of war-horses reined in by their 
riders. It was the first vessel that I had seen near, and I 
was surprised to find how much she rolled and pitched in 
so quiet a sea. She plunged her head into the sea, and 
then, her stern settling gradually down, her huge bows 
rose up, showing the bright copper, and her stern, and brest- 
hooks dripping, like old Neptune's locks, with the brine. 
Her decks were filled with passengers who had come up 
at the cry of "sail ho," and who by their dress and features 
appeared to be Swiss and French emigrants. She hailed 
us at first in French, but receiving no answer, she tried us 
in English. She was the ship La Carolina, from Havre, for 
New York. We desired her to report the brig Pilgrim, 



12 TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 

from Boston, for the north-west coast of America, five days 
out. She then filled away and left us to plough on through 
our waste of waters. This day ended pleasantly ; we had 
got into regular and comfortable weather, and into that 
routine of sea-life which is only broken by a storm, a sail, 
or the sight of land. 



CHAPTER III 

As we had now a long "spell" of fine weather, without 
any incident to break the monotony of our lives, there can 
be no better place to describe the duties, regulations, and 
customs of an American merchantman, of which ours was 
a fair specimen. 

The captain, in the first place, is lord paramount. He 
stands no watch, comes and goes when he pleases, and is 
accountable to no one, and must be obeyed in everything, 
without a question, even from his chief officer. He has 
the power to turn hisipfficers oflF duty, and even to break 
them and make them do duty as sailors in the forecastle. 
Where there are no passengers and no supercargo, as in 
our vessel, he has no companion but his own dignity, and 
no pleasures, unless he differs from most of his kind, but 
the consciousness of possessing supreme power, and, occa- 
sionally, the exercise of it. 

The prime minister, the official organ, and the active 
and superintending officer, is the chief mate. He is first 
lieutenant, boatswain, sailing-master, and quarter-master. 
The captain tells him what he wishes to have done, and 
leaves to him the care of overseeing, of allotting the work, 
and also the responsibility of its being well done. The 
mate (as he is always called, par excellence) also keeps the 
log-book, for which he is responsible to the owners and 
insurers, and has the charge of the stowage, safe keeping, 
and delivery of the cargo. He is also, ex-officio, the wit 
of the crew; for the captain does not condescend to joke 
with the men, and the second mate no one cares for; so 
that when "the mate" thinks fit to entertain "the people" 
with a coarse joke or a little practical wit, every one feels 
bound to laugh. 

13 



14 TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 

The second mate's is proverbially a dog's berth. He is 
neither officer nor man. The men do not respect him as an 
officer, and he is obliged to go aloft to reef and furl the 
topsails, and to put his hands into the tar and slush, with 
the rest. The crew call him the "sailor's waiter," as he 
has to furnish them with spun-yarn, marline, and all other 
stuffs that they need in their work, and has charge of the 
boatswain's locker, which includes serving-boards, marline- 
spikes, etc. He is expected by the captain to maintain his 
dignity and to enforce obedience, and still is kept at a great 
distance from the mate, and obliged to work with the crew. 
He is one to whom little is given and of whom much is 
required. His wages are usually double those of a common 
sailor, and he eats and sleeps in the cabin ; but he is obliged 
to be on deck nearly all his time, and eats at the second 
table, that is, makes a meal out of what the captain and 
chief mate leave. 

The steward is the captain's servant, and has charge of 
the pantry, from which every one, even the mate himself, is 
excluded. These distinctions usually find him an enemy 
in the mate, who does not like to have any one on board 
who is not entirely under his control ; the crew do not con- 
sider him as one of their number, so he is left to the mercy 
of the captain. 

The cook is the patron of the crew, and those who are 
in his favor can get their wet mittens and stockings dried, 
or light their pipes at the galley on the night watch. These 
two worthies, together with the carpenter and sail-maker, 
if there be one, stand no watch, but, being employed all 
day, are allowed to "sleep in" at night, unless all hands are 
called. 

The crew are divided into two divisions, as equally as 
may be, called the watches. Of these the chief mate com- 
mands the larboard, and the second mate the starboard. 
They divide the time between them, being on and off duty, 
or, as it is called, on deck and below, every other four hours. 
If, for instance, the chief mate with the larboard watch 



TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 15 

have the first night-watch from eight to twelve ; at the end 
of the four hours, the starboard watch is called, and the 
second mate takes the deck, while the larboard watch and 
the first mate go below until four in the morning, when they 
come on deck again and remain until eight; having what 
is called the morning watch. As they will have been on 
deck eight hours out of the twelve, while those who had 
the middle watch — from twelve to four, will only have 
been up four hours, they have what is called a "forenoon 
watch below," that is, from eight, a.m., till twelve, m. In 
a man-of-war, and in some merchantmen, this alternation 
of watches is kept up throughout the twenty-four hours; 
but our ship, like most merchantmen, had "all hands" 
from twelve o'clock till dark, except in bad weather, when 
we had "watch and watch." 

An explanation of the "dog watches" may, perhaps, be 
of use to one who has never been at sea. They are to shift 
the watches each night, so that the same watch need not be 
on deck at the same hours. In order to effect this, the 
watch from four to eight, p.m., is divided into two half, or 
dog watches, one from four to six, and the other from six to 
eight. By this means they divide the twenty-four hours 
into seven watches instead of six, and thus shift the hours 
every night. As the dog watches come during twilight, 
after the day's work is done, and before the night watch is 
set, they are the watches in which everybody is on deck. 
The captain is up, walking on the weather side of the 
quarter-deck, the chief mate on the lee side, and the second 
mate about the weather gangway. The steward has 
finished his work in the cabin, and has come up to smoke 
his pipe with the cook in the galley. The crew are sitting 
on the windlass or lying on the forecastle, smoking, sing- 
ing, or telling long yarns. At eight o'clock, eight bells are 
struck, the log is hove, the watch set, the wheel relieved, 
the galley shut up, and the other watch goes below. 

The morning commences with the watch on deck's 
"turning-to" at day-break and washing down, scrubbing, 



i6 TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 

and swabbing the decks. This, together with filling the 
"scuttled butt" with fresh water, and coiling up the rig- 
ging, usually occupies the time until seven bells (half 
after seven), when all hands get breakfast. At eight, the 
day's work begins, and lasts until sun-down, with the excep- 
tion of an hour for dinner. 

Before I end my explanations, it may be well to define a 
day's work, and to correct a mistake prevalent among 
landsmen about a sailor's life. Nothing is more common 
than to hear people say — "Are not sailors very idle at 
sea ? — what can they find to do ?" This is a very natural 
mistake, and being very frequently made, it is one which 
every sailor feels interested in having corrected. In the first 
place, then, the discipline of the ship requires every man 
to be at work upon something when he is on deck, except 
at night and on Sundays. Except at these times, you will 
never see a man, on board a well-ordered vessel, standing 
idle on deck, sitting down, or leaning over the side. It is 
the officers' duty to keep every one at work, even if there is 
nothing to be done but to scrape the rust from the chain 
cables. In no state prison are the convicts more regularly 
set to work, and more closely watched. No conversation 
is allowed among the crew at their duty, and though they 
frequently do talk when aloft, or when near one another, 
yet they always stop when an officer is nigh. 

With regard to the work upon which the men are put, 
it is a matter which probably would not be understood by 
one who has not been at sea. When I first left port, and 
found that we were kept regularly employed for a week or 
two, I supposed that we were getting the vessel into sea 
trim, and that it would soon be over, and we should have 
nothing to do but to sail the ship; but I found that it 
continued so for two years, and at the end of the two years 
there was as much to be done as ever. As has often been 
said, a ship is like a lady's watch, always out of repair. 
Wlien first leaving port, studding-sail gear is to be rove, all 
the running rigging to be examined, that which is unfit for 



TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 17 

use to be got down, and new rigging rove in its place: then 
the standing rigging is to be overhauled, replaced, and 
repaired, in a thousand different ways ; and wherever any 
of the numberless ropes or the yards are chafing or wearing 
upon it, there "chafing gear," as it is called, must be put 
on. This chafing gear consists of worming, parcelling, 
Foundings, battens, and service of all kinds — both rope- 
yarns, spun-yarn, marline and seizing-stuffs. Taking off, 
putting on, and mending the chafing gear alone, upon a 
vessel, would find constant employment for two or three 
men, during working hours, for a whole voyage. 

The next point to be considered is, that all the "small 
stuffs" which are used on board a ship — such as spun-yarn, 
marline, seizing-stuff, etc. — are made on board. The 
owners of a vessel buy up incredible quantities of "old 
junk," which the sailors unlay, after drawing out the yarns, 
knot them together, and roll them up in balls. These 
"rope-yarns" are constantly used for various purposes, but 
the greater part is manufactured into spun-yarn. For this 
purpose every vessel is furnished with a " spun-yarn winch ;" 
which is very simple, consisting of a wheel and spindle. 
This may be heard constantly going on deck in pleasant 
weather; and we had employment, during a great part 
of the tim.e, for three hands in drawing and knotting yarns, 
and making spun-yarn. 

Another method of employing the crew is, "setting up" 
rigging. Whenever any of the standing rigging becomes 
slack (which is continually happening), the seizings and 
coverings must be taken off, tackles got up, and after the 
rigging is bowsed well taught, the seizings and coverings 
replaced ; which is a very nice piece of work. There is also 
such a connection between different parts of a vessel, that 
one rope can seldom be touched without altering another. 
You cannot stay a mast aft by the back stays, without slack- 
ing up the head stays, etc. If we add to this all the tarring, 
greasing, oiling, varnishing, painting, scraping, and scrub- 
bing which is required in the course of a long voyage, and 



1 8 TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 

also remember this is all to be done in addition to watching 
at night, steering, reefing, furling, bracing, making and 
setting sail, and pulling, hauling and climbing in every 
direction, one will hardly ask, ''What can a sailor find to 
do at sea?" 

If, after all this labor — after exposing their lives and 
limbs in storms, wet and cold, 

" Wherein the cub-drawn bear would couch ; 
The lion and the belly-pinched wolf 
Keep their fur dry ; — " 

the merchants and captains think that they have not earned 
their twelve dollars a month (out of which they clothe 
themselves) and their salt beef and hard bread, they keep 
them picking oakum — ad infinitum. This is the usual 
resource upon a rainy day, for then it will not do to work 
upon rigging ; and when it is pouring down in floods, instead 
of letting the sailors stand about in sheltered places, and 
talk, and keep themselves comfortable, they are separated 
to different parts of the ship, and kept at work picking 
oakum. I have seen oakum stuff placed about in different 
parts of the ship, so that the sailors might not be idle in the 
snatches between the frequent squalls upon crossing the 
equator. Some officers have been so driven to find work 
for the crew in a ship ready for sea, that they have set them 
to pounding the anchors (often done) and scraping the chain 
cables. The "Philadelphia Catechism" is, 

" Six days shalt thou labor and do all thou art able, 
And on the seventh — holystone the decks and scrape the cable." 

This kind of work, of course, is not kept up off Cape Horn, 
Cape of Good Hope, and in extreme north and south lati- 
tudes ; but I have seen the decks washed down and 
scrubbed, when the water would have frozen if it had been 
fresh ; and all hands kept at work upon the rigging, when 
we had on our pea-jackets, and our hands so numb that we 
could hardly hold our marline-spikes. 



TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 19 

I have here gone out of my narrative course in order that 
any who read this may form as correct an idea of a sailor's 
life and duty as possible. I have done it in this place be- 
cause, for some time, our life was nothing but the unvary- 
ing repetition of these duties, which can be better described 
together. Before leaving this description, however, I 
would state, in order to show landsmen how little they 
know of the nature of a ship, that a ship-carpenter is kept 
in constant employ during good weather on board vessels 
which are in, what is called, perfect sea order. 



CHAPTER IV 

After speaking the Carolina, on the 21st August, nothing 
occurred to break the monotony of our life until 

Friday, September $th, when we saw a sail on our weather 
(starboard) beam. She proved to be a brig under EngHsh 
colors, and passing under our stern, reported herself as 
forty-nine days from Buenos Ayres, bound to Liverpool. 
Before she had passed us, "sail ho !" was cried again, and 
we made another sail, far on our weather bow, and steering 
athwart our hawse. She passed out of hail, but we made 
her out to be an hermaphrodite brig, with Brazilian colors 
in her main rigging. By her course, she must have been 
boimd from Brazil ^to the south of Europe, probably 
Portugal. 

Sunday, Sept. yth. Fell in with the north-east trade 
winds. This morning we caught our first dolphin, which 
I was very eager to see. I was disappointed in the colors 
of this fish when dying. They were certainly very beauti- 
ful, but not equal to what has been said of them. They 
are too indistinct. To do the fish justice, there is nothing 
more beautiful than the dolphin when swimming a few feet 
below the surface, on a bright day. It is the most elegantly 
formed, and also the quickest fish, in salt water ; and the 
rays of the sun striking upon it, in its rapid and changing 
motions, reflected from the water, make it look like a stray 
beam from a rainbow. 

This day was spent like all pleasant Sabbaths at sea. 
The decks are washed down, the rigging coiled up, and 
everything put in order ; and throughout the day, only one 
watch is kept on deck at a time. The men are all dressed 
in their best white duck trowsers, and red or checked shirts, 
and have nothing to do but to make the necessary changes 



TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 21 

in the sails. They employ themselves in reading, talking, 
smoking, and mending liieir clothes. If the weather is pleas- 
ant, they bring their work and their books upon deck, and 
sit down upon the forecastle and windlass. This is the 
only day on which these privileges are allowed them. When 
Monday comes, they put on their tarry trowsers again, 
and prepare for six days of labor. 

To enhance the value of the Sabbath to the crew, they are 
allowed on that day a pudding, or, as it is called, a "duff." 
This is nothing more than flour boiled with water, and eaten 
with molasses. It is very heavy, dark, and clammy, yet 
it is looked upon as a luxury, and really forms an agreeable 
variety with salt beef and pork. Many a rascally captain 
has made friends of his crew by allowing them duff twice a 
week on the passage home. 

On board some vessels this is made a day of instruction 
and of religious exercises ; but we had a crew of swearers, 
from the captain to the smallest boy ; and a day of rest, . 
and of something like quiet, social enjoyment, was all that 
we could expect. '■< 

We continued running large before the north-east trade 
winds for several days, until Monday — 

September 22 J; when, upon coming on deck at seven 
bells in the morning, we found the other watch aloft throw- 
ing water upon the sails; and looking astern, we saw a 
small clipper-built brig with a black hull heading directly 
after us. We went to work immediately, and put all the 
canvas upon the brig which we could get upon her, rigging 
out oars for studding-sail yards; and continued wetting 
down the sails by buckets of water whipped up to the 
mast-head, until about nine o'clock, when there came on a 
drizzling rain. The vessel continued in pursuit, changing 
her course as we changed ours, to keep before the wind. 
The captain, who watched her with his glass, said that she 
was armed, and full of men, and showed no colors. We 
continued running dead before the wind, knowing that we 
sailed better so, and that clippers are fastest on the wind. 



22 TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 

We had also another advantage. The wind was hght, and 
we spread more canvas than she did, having royals and 
sky-sails fore and aft, and ten studding-sails; while she, 
being an hermaphrodite brig, had only a gaff topsail, aft. 
Early in the morning she was overhauling us a little, but 
after the rain came on and the wind grew lighter, we began 
to leave her astern. All hands remained on deck throughout 
the day, and we got our arms in order; but we were too 
few to have done anything with her, if she had proved to 
be what we feared. Fortunately there was no moon, and 
the night which followed was exceedingly dark, so that by 
putting out all the lights on board and altering our course 
four points, we hoped to get out of her reach. We had no 
light in the binnacle, but steered by the stars, and kept 
perfect silence through the night. At daybreak there was 
no sign of anything in the horizon, and we kept the vessel 
off to her course. 

Wednesday, October ist. Crossed the equator in long. 
24° 24' W. I now, for the first time, felt at liberty, accord- 
ing to the old usage, to call myself a son of Neptune, and 
was very glad to be able to claim the title without the 
disagreeable initiation which so many have to go through. 
After once crossing the line you can never be subjected to 
the process, but are considered as a son of Neptune, with 
full powers to play tricks upon others. This ancient cus- 
tom is now seldom allowed, unless there are passengers on 
board, in which case there is always a good deal of sport. 

It had been obvious to all hands for some time that the 

second mate, whose name was F , was an idle, careless 

fellow, and not much of a sailor, and that the captain was 
exceedingly dissatisfied with him. The power of the cap- 
tain in these cases was well known, and we all anticipated 

a difficulty, F (called Mr. by virtue of his office) was 

but half a sailor, having always been short voyages and 
remained at home a long time between them. His father 
was a man of some property, and intended to have given 
his son a liberal education ; but he, being idle and worth- 



TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 23 

less, was sent off to sea, and succeeded no better there; 
for, unlike many scamps, he had none of the qualities of a 
sailor — he was "not of the stuff that they make sailors 
of." He was one of that class of officers who are disliked 
by their captain and despised by the crew. He used to hold 
long yarns with the crew, and talk about the captain, and 
play with the boys, and relax discipHne in every way. 
This kind of conduct always makes the captain suspicious, 
and is never pleasant, in the end, to the men ; they prefer- 
ring to have an officer active, vigilant, and distant as may 
be, with kindness. Among other bad practices, he frequently 
slept on his watch, and having been discovered asleep 
by the captain, he was told that he would be turned off duty 
if he did it again. To prevent it in every way possible, 
the hen-coops were ordered to be knocked up, for the cap- 
tain never sat down on deck himself, and never permitted 
an officer to do so. 

The second night after crossing the equator, we had 
the watch from eight till twelve, and it was "my helm" 
for the last two hours. There had been light squalls 

through the night, and the captain told Mr. F , who 

commanded our watch, to keep a bright look-out. Soon 
after I came to the helm, I found that he was quite drowsy, 
and at last he stretched himself on the companion and 
went fast asleep. Soon afterwards, the captain came very 
quietly on deck, and stood by me for some time looking at 
the compass. The officer at length became aware of the 
captain's presence, but pretending not to know it, began 
humming and whistling to himself, to show that he was not 
asleep, and went forward, without looking behind him, and 
ordered the main royal to be loosed. On turning round to 
come aft, he pretended surprise at seeing the master on 
deck. This would not do. The captain was too "wide 
awake" for him, and beginning upon him at once, gave him 
a grand blow-up, in true nautical style — "You're a lazy, 
good-for-nothing rascal; you're neither man, boy, soger, 
nor sailor ! you're no more than a thing aboard a vessel ! 



24 TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 

you don't earn your salt ! you're worse than a Mahon 
soger ! " and other still more choice extracts from the 
sailor's vocabulary. After the poor fellow had taken this 
harangue, he was sent into his state-room, and the captain 
stood the rest of the watch himself. 

At seven bells in the morning, all hands were called aft 

and told that F was no longer an officer on board, and 

that we might choose one of our own number for second 
mate. It is usual for the captain to make this offer, and 
it is very good policy, for the crew think themselves the 
choosers and are flattered by it, but have to obey, never- 
theless. Our crew, as is usual, refused to take the respon- 
sibility of choosing a man of whom we would never be able 
to complain, and left it to the captain. He picked out an 
active and intelligent young sailor, born near the Kennebec, 
who had been several Canton voyages, and proclaimed him 
in the following manner: "I choose Jim Hall — he's your 
second mate. All you've got to do is, to obey him as you 

would me ; and remember that he is Mr. Hall." F went 

forward into the forecastle as a common sailor, and lost 
the handle to his name, while young fore-mast Jim became 
Mr. Hall, and took up his quarters in the land of knives and 
forks and tea-cups. 

Sunday, October $th. It was our morning watch ; when, 
soon after the day began to break, a man on the forecastle 
called out, "Land ho !" I had never heard the cry before, 
and did not know what it meant (and few would suspect 
what the words were, when hearing the strange sound for 
the first time), but I soon found, by the direction of all eyes, 
that there was land stretching along on our weather beam. 
We immediately took in studding-sails and hauled our 
wind, running in for the land. This was done to determine 
our longitude; for by the captain's chronometer we were 
in 25° W., but by his observations we were much farther, 
and he had been for some time in doubt whether it was his 
chronometer or his sextant which was out of order. This 
land-fall settled the matter, and the former instrument 



TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 25 

was condemned, and becoming still worse, was never after- 
wards used. 

As we ran in towards the coast, we found that we were 
directly off the port of Pernambuco, and could see with the 
telescope the roofs of the houses, and one large church, and 
the town of Olinda. We ran along by the mouth of the 
harbor, and saw a full-rigged brig going in. At two, p.m., 
we again kept off before the wind, leaving the land on our 
quarter, and at sun-down, it was out of sight. It was here 
that I first saw one of those singular things called cata- 
marans. They are composed of logs lashed together upon 
the water ; have one large sail, are quite fast, and, strange 
as it may seem, are trusted as good sea boats. We saw 
several, with from one to three men in each, boldly putting 
out to sea, after it had become almost dark. The Indians 
go out in them after fish, and as the weather is regular in 
certain seasons, they have no fear. After taking a new 
departure from Olinda, we kept off on our way to Cape 
Horn. 

We met with nothing remarkable until we were in the 
latitude of the river La Plata. Here there are violent gales 
from the south-west, called Pomperos, which are very de- 
structive to the shipping in the river, and are felt for many 
leagues at sea. They are usually preceded by lightning. 
The captain told the mates to keep a bright look-out, and 
if they saw lightning at the south-west, to take in sail at 
once. We got the first touch of one during my watch on 
deck. I was walking in the lee gangway, and thought that 
I saw lightning on the lee bow. I told the second mate, 
who came over and looked out for some time. It was very 
black in the south-west, and in about ten minutes we saw a 
distinct flash. The wind, which had been south-east, had 
now left us, and it was dead calm. We sprang aloft imme- 
diately and furled the royals and top-gallant-sails, and took 
in the flying jib, hauled up the mainsail and trysail, squared 
the after yards, and awaited the attack. A huge mist 
capped with black clouds came driving towards us, extend- 



26 TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 

ing over that quarter of the horizon, and covering the stars, 
which shone brightly in the other part of the heavens. It 
came upon us at once with a blast, and a shower of hail and 
rain, which almost took our breath from us. The hardiest 
was obliged to turn his back. We let the halyards run, 
and fortunately were not taken aback. The little vessel 
"paid off " from the wind, and ran on for some time directly 
before it, tearing through the water with everything flying. 
Having called all hands, we close-reefed the topsails and 
trysail, furled the courses and jib, set the fore-top-mast 
staysail, and brought her up nearly to her course, with the 
weather braces hauled in a little, to ease her. 

This was the first blow, that I had seen, which could 
really be called a gale. We had reefed our topsails in the 
Gulf Stream, and I thought it something serious, but an 
older sailor would have thought nothing of it. As I had 
now become used to the vessel and to my duty, I was of some 
service on a yard, and could knot my reef-point as well as 
anybody. I obeyed the order to lay^ aloft with the rest, 
and found the reefing a very exciting scene ; for one watch 
reefed the fore-topsail, and the other the main, and every 
one did his utmost to get his topsail hoisted first. We had 
a great advantage over the larboard watch, because the 
chief mate never goes aloft, while our new second mate 
used to jump into the rigging as soon as we began to haul 
out the reef-tackle, and have the weather earing passed 
before there was a man upon the yard. In this way we 
were almost always able to raise the cry of "Haul out to 
leeward" before them, and having knotted our points, 
would slide down the shrouds and back-stays, and sing out 
at the topsail halyards to let it be known that we w^ere 
ahead of them. Reefing is the most exciting part of a 

^This word "lay," which is in such general use on board ship, being 
used in giving orders instead of " go " ; as " Lay forward ! " " Lay aft ! " 
"Zav aloft!" etc., I do not understand to be the neuter verb lie, mis- 
pronounced, but to be the active verb lay, with the objective case under- 
stood ; as, " Lay yourselves forward ! " " Lay yourselves aft ! " etc. 



TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 27 

sailor's duty. All hands are engaged upon it, and after 
the halyards are let go, there is no time to be lost — no 
"sogering," or hanging back, then. If one is not quick 
enough, another runs over him. The first on the yard goes 
to the weather earing, the second to the lee, and the next 
two to the "dog's ears ;" while the others lay along into the 
bunt, just giving each other elbow-room. In reefing, the 
yard-arms (the extremes of the yards) are the posts of 
honor; but in furling, the strongest and most experienced 
stand in the slings (or, middle of the yard), to make up the 
bunt. If the second mate is a smart fellow, he will never 
let any one take either of these posts from him ; but if he 
is wanting either in seamanship, strength, or activity, some 
better man will get the bunt and earings from him ; which 
immediately brings him into disrepute. 

We remained for the rest of the night, and throughout 
the next day, under the same close sail, for it continued to 
blow very fresh ; and though we had no more hail, yet 
there was a soaking rain, and it was quite cold and uncom- 
fortable; the more so, because we were not prepared for 
cold weather, but had on our thin clothes. We were glad to 
get a watch below, and put on our thick clothing, boots, 
and south-westers. Towards sun-down the gale moderated 
a little, and it began to clear off in the south-west. We 
shook our reefs out, one by one, and before midnight had 
top-gallant sails upon her. 

We had now made up our minds for Cape Horn and 
cold weather, and entered upon every necessary prepa- 
ration. 

Tuesday, Nov. 4th. At day-break, saw land upon our 
larboard quarter. There were two islands, of different size 
but of the same shape ; rather high, beginning low at the 
water's edge, and running with a curved ascent to the mid- 
dle. They were so far off as to be of a deep blue color, and 
in a few hours we sank them in the north-east. These 
were the Falkland Islands. We had run between them and 
the main land of Patagonia. At sun-set the second mate, 



28 TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 

who was at the masthead, said that he saw land on the 
starboard bow. This must have been the island of Staten 
Land ; and we were now in the region of Cape Horn, with 
a fine breeze from the northward, top-mast and top-gallant 
studding-sails set, and every prospect of a speedy and 
pleasant passage round. 



CHAPTER V 

Wednesday, Nov. 5th. The weather was fine during 
the previous night, and we had a clear view of the Magellan 
Clouds, and of the Southern Cross. The Magellan Clouds 
consist of three small nebulae in the southern part of the 
heavens, — two bright, like the milky-way, and one dark. 
These are first seen, just above the horizon, soon after 
crossing the southern tropic. When off Cape Horn, they 
are nearly overhead. The cross is composed of four stars 
in that form, and is said to be the brightest constellation in 
the heavens. 

During the first part of this day (Wednesday) the wind 
was light, but after noon it came on fresh, and we furled 
the royals. We still kept the studding-sails out, and the 
captain said he should go round with them, if he could. 
Just before eight o'clock (then about sun-down, in that 
latitude), the cry of "All hands ahoy !" was sounded down 
the fore scuttle and the after hatchway, and hurrying upon 
deck, we found a large black cloud rolling on toward us 
from the south-west, and blackening the whole heavens. 
"Here comes Cape Horn !" said the chief mate ; and we had 
hardly time to haul down and clew up, before it was upon 
us. In a few moments, a heavier sea was raised than I 
had ever seen before, and as it was directly ahead, the little 
brig, which was no better than a bathing machine, plunged 
into it, and all the forward part of her was under water; 
the sea pouring in through the bow-ports and hawse-hole 
and over the knight-heads, threatening to wash everything 
overboard. In the lee scuppers it was up to a man's 
waist. We sprang aloft and double reefed the topsails, 
and. furled all the other sails, and made all snug. But 
this would not do; the brig was laboring and straining 

29 



30 TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 

against the head sea, and the gale was growing worse and 
worse. At the same time sleet and hail were driving with 
all fury against us. We clewed down, and hauled out the 
reef-tackles again, and close-reefed the fore-topsail, and 
furled the main, and hove her to on the starboard tack. 
Here was an end to our fine prospects. We made up our 
minds to head winds and cold weather ; sent down the royal 
yards, and unrove the gear, but all the rest of the top 
hamper remaining aloft, even to the sky-sail masts and 
studding-sail booms. 

Throughout the night it stormed violently — rain, hail, 
snow, and sleet beating upon the vessel — the wind con- 
tinuing ahead, and the sea running high. At daybreak 
(about three, a.m.) the deck was covered with snow. The 
captain sent up the steward with a glass of grog to each of 
the watch ; and all the time that we were off the Cape, grog 
was given to the morning watch, and to all hands whenever 
we reefed topsails. The clouds cleared away at sun-rise, 
and the wind becoming more fair, we again made sail and 
stood nearly up to our course. 

Thursday, Nov. 6th. It continued more pleasant through 
the first part of the day, but at night we had the same scene 
over again. This time, we did not heave to, as on the night 
before, but endeavored to beat to windward under close- 
reefed top-sails, balance-reefed trysail, and fore top-mast 
stay-sail. This night it was my turn to steer, or, as the 
sailors say, my trick at the helm, for two hours. Inexperi- 
enced as I was, I made out to steer to the satisfaction of the 

officer, and neither S nor myself gave up our tricks, 

all the time that we were off the Cape. This was something 
to boast of, for it requires a good deal of skill and watch- 
fulness to steer a vessel close hauled, in a gale of wind, 
against a heavy head sea. ''Ease her when she pitches," 
is the word; and a little carelessness in letting her ship a 
heavy sea, might sweep the decks, or knock the masts out 
of her. 

Friday, Nov. jth. Towards morning the wind went 



TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 31 

down, and during the whole forenoon we lay tossing about 
in a dead calm, and in the midst of a thick fog. The calms 
here are unlike those in most parts of the world, for there 
is always such a high sea running, and the periods of calm 
are so short, that it has no time to go down ; and vessels, 
being under no command of sails or rudder, lie like logs 
upon the water. We were obliged to steady the booms 
and yards by guys and braces, and to lash everything well 
below. We now found our top hamper of some use, for 
though it is hable to be carried away or sprung by the sudden 
''bringing up" of a vessel when pitching in a chopping sea, 
yet it is a great help in steadying a vessel when rolling in a 
long swell; giving more slowness, ease, and regularity to 
the motion. 

The calm of the morning reminds me of a scene which I 
forgot to describe at the time of its occurrence, but which I 
remember from its being the first time that I had heard the 
near breathing of whales. It was on the night that we 
passed between the Falkland Islands and Staten Land. 
We had the v/atch from twelve to four, and coming upon 
deck, found the little brig lying perfectly still, surrounded 
by a thick fog, and the sea as smooth as though oil had been 
poured upon it ; yet now and then a long, low swell rolling 
over its surface, slightly lifting the vessel, but without break- 
ing the glassy smoothness of the water. We were sur- 
rounded far and near by shoals of sluggish whales and 
grampuses ; which the fog prevented our seeing, rising 
slowly to the surface, or perhaps lying out at length, heav- 
ing out those peculiar lazy, deep, and long-drawn breathings 
which give such an impression of supineness and strength. 
Some of the watch were asleep, and the others were per- 
fectly still, so that there was nothing to break the illusion, 
and I stood leaning over the bulwarks, listening to the slow 
breathings of the mighty creatures — now one breaking the 
water just alongside, whose black body I almost fancied 
that I could see through the fog ; and again another, which 
I could just hear in the distance — until the low and regular 



32 TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 

swell seemed like the heaving of the ocean's mighty bosom 
to the sound of its heavy and long-drawn respirations. 

Towards the evening of this day (Friday 7th,) the fog 
cleared off, and we had every appearance of a cold blow; 
and soon after sun-down it came on. Again it was clew up 
and haul down, reef and furl, until we had got her down to 
close-reefed topsails, double-reefed trysail, and reefed fore 
spenser. Snow, hail, and sleet were driving upon us most 
of the night, and the sea breaking over the bows and cover- 
ing the forward part of the little vessel ; but as she would 
lay her course the captain refused to heave her to. 

Saturday, Nov. 8th. This day commenced with calm and 
thick fog, and ended with hail, snow, a violent wind, and 
close-reefed topsails. 

Sunday, Nov. gth. To-day the sun rose clear and con- 
tinued so until twelve o'clock, when the captain got an 
observation. This was very well for Cape Horn, and we 
thought it a little remarkable that, as we had not had one 
unpleasant Sunday during the whole voyage, the only 
tolerable day here should be a Sunday. We got time to 
clear up the steerage and forecastle, and set things to rights, 
and to overhaul our wet clothes a little. But this did not 
last very long. Between five and six — the sun was then 
nearly three hours high — the cry of ''All starbowlines 
ahoy ! " summoned our watch on deck ; and immediately 
all hands were called. A true specimen of Cape Horn was 
coming upon us, A great cloud of a dark slate-color was 
driving on us from the south-west ; and we did our best to 
take in sail, (for the light sails had been set during the 
first part of the day,) before we were in the midst of it. We 
had got the hght sails furled, the courses hauled up, and the 
topsail reef-tackles hauled out, and were just mounting the 
fore-rigging, when the storm struck us. In an instant the 
sea, which had been comparatively quiet, was running higher 
and higher ; and it became almost as dark as night. The 
hail and sleet were harder than I had yet felt them ; seem- 
ing almost to pin us down to the rigging. We were longer 



TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 53 

taking in sail than ever before ; for the sails were stiff and 
wet, the ropes and rigging covered with snow and sleet, and 
we ourselves cold and nearly bhnded with the violence of 
the storm. By the time we had got down upon deck again, 
the Httle brig was plunging madly into a tremendous head 
sea, which at every drive rushed in through the bow-ports 
and over the bows, and buried all the forward part of the 
vessel. At this instant the chief mate, who was standing 
on the top of the windlass, at the foot of the spenser mast, 
called out, "Lay out there and furl the jib ! " This was no 
agreeable or safe duty, yet it must be done. An old Swede 
(the best sailor on board), who belonged on the forecastle, 
sprang out upon the bowsprit. Another one must go : 
I was near the mate, and sprang forward, threw the down- 
haul over the windlass, and jumped between the knight- 
heads out upon the bowsprit. The crew stood abaft the 
windlass and hauled the jib down, while we got out upon the 
weather side of the jib-boom, our feet on the foot ropes, 
holding on by the spar, the great jib flying off to leeward 
and slatting so as almost to throw us off of the boom. For 
some time we could do nothing but hold on, and the vessel 
diving into two huge seas, one after the other, plunged us 
twice into the water up to our chins. We hardly knew 
whether we were on or off ; when coming up, dripping from 
the water, we were raised high into the air. John (that 
was the sailor's name) thought the boom would go, every 
moment, and called out to the mate to keep the vessel off, 
and haul down the staysail ; but the fury of the wind and the 
breaking of the seas against the bows defied every at- 
tempt to make ourselves heard, and we were obliged to do 
the best we could in our situation. Fortunately, no other 
seas so heavy struck her, and we succeeded in furling the 
jib "after a fashion"; and, coming in over the staysail 
nettings, were not a little pleased to find that all was snug, 
and the watch gone below; for we were soaked through, 
and it was very cold. The weather continued nearly the 
same through the night. 



.'34 TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 

Monday, Nov. lotJi. During a part of this day we were 
hove to, but the rest of the time were driving on, under 
close-reefed sails, with a heavy sea, a strong gale, and fre- 
quent squalls of hail and snow. 

Tuesday, Nov. nth. The same. 

Wednesday. The same. 

Thursday. The same. 

We had now got hardened to Cape weather, the vessel 
was under reduced sail, and everything secured on deck and 
below, so that we had Httle to do but to steer and to stand 
our watch. Our clothes were all wet through, and the only 
change was from wet to more wet. It was in vain to think 
of reading or working below, for we were too tired, the 
hatchways were closed down, and everything was wet and 
uncomfortable, black and dirty, heaving and pitching. 
We had only to come below when the watch was out, wring 
out our wet clothes, hang them up, and turn in and sleep as 
soundly as we could, until the watch was called again. A 
sailor can sleep an}'^here — no sound of wind, water, wood 
or iron can keep him awake — and we were always fast 
asleep when three blows on the hatchway, and the unwel- 
come cr}^ of "All starbowlines ahoy ! eight bells there 
below ! do you hear the news ?" (the usual formula of call- 
ing the watch) , roused us up from our berths upon the cold, 
wet decks. The only time when we could be said to take 
any pleasure was at night and morning, when we were 
allowed a tin pot full of hot tea (or, as the sailors signifi- 
cantly call it, "water bewitched,") sweetened with molasses. 
This, bad as it w^as, was still warm and comforting, and, 
together with our sea biscuit and cold salt beef, made quite 
a meal. Yet even this meal was attended with some un- 
certainty. We had to go ourselves to the galley and take 
our kid of beef and tin pots of tea, and run the risk of losing 
them before we could get below. Many a kid of beef have 
I seen rolling in the scuppers, and the bearer lying at his 
length on the decks. I remember an English lad who was 
always the life of the crew, but whom we afterwards lost 



TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 35 

overboard, standing for nearly ten minutes at the galley, 
with his pot of tea in his hand, waiting for a chance to get 
down into the forecastle ; and seeing what he thought was 
a "smooth spell," started to go forward. He had just got 
to the end of the windlass, when a great sea broke over the 
bows, and for a moment I saw nothing of him but his head 
and shoulders ; and at the next instant, being taken off of 
his legs, he was carried aft with the sea, until her stern lift- 
ing up and sending the water forward, he was left high and 
dry at the side of the long-boat, still holding on to his tin 
pot, which had now nothing 'in it but salt water. But 
nothing could ever daunt him, or overcome, for a moment, 
his habitual good humor. Regaining his legs, and shaking 
his fist at the man at the wheel, he rolled below, saying, as 
he passed, "A man's no sailor, if he can't take a joke." 
The ducking was not the worst of such an affair, for, as there 
was an allowance of tea, you could get no more from the 
galley ; and though the sailors would never suJEf er a man 
to go without, but would always turn in a little from their 
own pots to fill up his, yet this was at best but dividing the 
loss among all hands. 

Something of the same kind befell me a few days after. 
The cook had just made for us a mess of hot " scouse" — that 
is, biscuit pounded fine, salt beef cut into small pieces, and a 
few potatoes, boiled up together and seasoned with pepper. 
This was a rare treat, and I, being the last at the galley, had 
it put in my charge to carry down for the mess. I got along 
very well as far as the hatchway, and was just getting down 
the steps, when a heavy sea, lifting the stern out of water, and 
passing forward, dropping it down again, threw the steps from 
their place, and I came down into the steerage a little faster 
than I meant to, with the kid on top of me, and the whole 
precious mess scattered over the floor. Whatever your feel- 
ings may be, you must make a joke of everything at sea ; 
and if you were to fall from aloft and be caught in the belly of 
a sail, and thus saved from instant death, it would not do 
to look at all disturbed, or to make a serious matter of it. 



36 TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 

Friday, Nov. 14th. We were now well to the westward of 
the Cape and were changing our course to the northward 
as much as we dared, since the strong south-west winds, 
which prevailed then, carried us in towards Patagonia. At 
two, P.M., we saw a sail on our larboard beam, and at four 
we made it out to be a large ship, steering our course, under 
single-reefed topsails. We at that time had shaken the 
reefs out of our topsails, as the wind was lighter, and set the 
main top-gallant sail. As soon as our captain saw what 
sail she was under, he set the fore top-gallant sail and flying 
jib ; and the old whaler — for such, his boats and short 
sail showed him to be — felt a little ashamed, and shook 
the reefs out of his topsails, but could do no more, for he 
had sent down his top-gallant masts off the Cape. He ran 
down for us, and answered our hail as the whale-ship. New 
England, of Poughkeepsie, one hundred and twenty days 
from New York. Our captain gave our name, and added, 
ninety-two days from Boston. They then had a little 
conversation about longitude, in which they found that 
they could not agree. The ship fell astern, and continued 
in sight during the night. Toward morning, the wind hav- 
ing become light, we crossed our royal and skysail yards, 
and at daylight we were seen under a cloud of sail, having 
royals and skysails fore and aft. The "spouter," as the 
sailors call a whaleman, had sent up his main top-gallant 
mast and set the sail, and made signal for us to heave to. 
About half-past seven their whale-boat came alongside, and 
Captain Job Terry sprang on board, a man known in every 
port and by every vessel in the Pacific ocean. "Don't you 
know Job Terry ? I thought everybody knew Job Terry," 
said a green-hand, who came in the boat, to me, when I 
asked him about his captain. He was indeed a singular 
man. He was six feet high, wore thick, cowhide boots, and 
brown coat and trowsers, and, except a sun-burnt complex- 
ion, had not the slightest appearance of a sailor; yet he 
had been forty years in the whale trade, and, as he said 
himself, had owned ships, built ships, and sailed ships. His 



TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 37 

boat's crew were a pretty raw set, just out of the bush, and 
as the sailor's phrase is, "hadn't got the hayseed out of their 
hair." Captain Terry convinced our captain that our 
reckoning was a Httle out, and, having spent the day on 
board, put off in his boat at sunset for his ship, which was 
now six or eight miles astern. He began a "yarn" when 
he came aboard, which lasted, with but little intermission, 
for four hours. It was all about himself, and the Peruvian 
government, and the DubHn frigate, and Lord James 
Townshend, and President Jackson, and the ship Ann 
M'Kim of Baltimore. It would probably never have come 
to an end, had not a good breeze sprung up, which sent him 
off to his own vessel. One of the lads who came in his boat, 
a thoroughly countrified-looking fellow, seemed to care very 
little about the vessel, rigging, or anything else, but went 
round looking at the Hve stock, and leaned over the pig-sty, 
and said he wished he was back again tending his father's pigs. 

At eight o'clock we altered our course to the northward, 
bound for Juan Fernandez. 

This day we saw the last of the albatrosses, which had 
been our companions a great part of the time off the Cape. 
I had been interested in the bird from descriptions which I 
had read of it, and was not at all disappointed. We caught 
one or two with a baited hook which we floated astern upon 
a shingle. Their long, flapping wings, long legs, and large, 
staring eyes, give them a very peculiar appearance. They 
look well on the wing; but one of the finest sights that I 
have ever seen, was an albatross asleep upon the water, 
during a calm, off Cape Horn, when a heavy sea was running. 
There being no breeze, the surface of the water was un- 
broken, but a long, heavy swell was rolling, and we saw the 
fellow, all white, directly ahead of us, asleep upon the waves, 
with his head under his wing; now rising on the top of a 
huge billow, and then falling slowly until he was lost in the 
hollow between. He was undisturbed for some time, until 
the noise of our bows, gradually approaching, roused him, 
when, lifting his head, he stared upon us for a moment, and 
then spread his wide wings and took his flight. 



CHAPTER VI 

Monday, Nov. iqth. This was a black day in our 
calendar. At seven o'clock in the morning, it being our 
watch below, we were aroused from a sound sleep by the 
cry of "All hands ahoy! a man overboard!" This un- 
wonted cry sent a thrill through the heart of every one, and 
hurrying on deck we found the vessel hove fiat aback, with 
all her studding-sails set ; for the boy who was at the helm 
left it to throw something overboard, and the carpenter, 
who was an old sailor, knowing that the wind was light, put 
the helm down and hove her aback. The watch on deck 
were lowering away the quarter-boat, and I got on deck 
just in time to'^heave myself into her as she was leaving the 
side ; but it was not until out upon the wide Pacific, in our 
little boat, that I knew whom we had lost. It was George 
Ballmer, a young EngHsh sailor, who was prized by the 
ofl&cers as an active and willing seaman, and by the crew 
as a Kvely, hearty fellow, and a good shipmate. He was 
going aloft to fit a strap round the main top-mast-head, for 
ringtail halyards, and had the strap and block, a coil of 
halyards, and a marHne-spike about his neck. He fell 
from the starboard futtock shrouds, and not knowing how 
to swim, and being heavily dressed, with all those things 
round his neck, he probably sank immediately. We pulled 
astern, in the direction in which he fell, and though we 
knew that there was no hope of saving him, yet no one 
wished to speak of returning, and we rowed about for nearly 
an hour, without the hope of doing anything, but unwilling 
to acknowledge to ourselves that we must give him up. At 
length we turned the boat's head and made towards the 
vessel. 

Death is at ail times solemn, but never so much so as at 

38 



TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 39 

sea. A man dies on shore ; his body remains with his 
friends, and "the mourners go about the streets;" but 
when a man falls overboard at sea and is lost, there is a 
suddenness in the event, and a difficulty in realizing it, 
which give to it an air of awful mystery. A man dies on 
shore — you follow his body to the grave, and a stone marks 
the spot. You are often prepared for the event. There is 
always something which helps you to realize it when it 
happens, and to recall it when -it has passed. A man is 
shot down by your side in battle, and the mangled body 
remains an object, and a real evidence; but at sea, the man 
is near you — at your side — you hear his voice, and in 
an instant he is gone, and nothing but a vacancy shows his 
loss. Then, too, at sea — to use a homely but expressive 
phrase — you miss a man so much. A dozen men are shut 
up together in a little bark, upon the wide, wide sea, and 
for months and months see no forms and hear no voices 
but their own, and one is taken suddenly from among them, 
and they miss him at every turn. It is like losing a limb. 
There are no new faces or new scenes to fill up the gap. 
There is always an empty berth in the forecastle, and one 
man wanting when the small night watch is mustered. 
There is one less to take the wheel, and one less to lay out 
with you upon the yard. You miss his form, and the sound 
of his voice, for habit had made them almost necessary to 
you, and each of your senses feels the loss. 

All these things make such a death peculiarly solemn, and 
the effect of it remains upon the crew for some time. There 
is more kindness shown by the officers to the crew, and by 
the crew to one another. There is more quietness and 
seriousness. The oath and the loud laugh are gone. The 
officers are more watchful, and the crew go more carefully 
aloft. The lost man is seldom mentioned, or is dismissed 
with a sailor's rude eulogy — "Well, poor George is gone ! 
His cruise is up soon ! He knew his work, and did his duty, 
and was 'a good shipmate." Then usually follows some 
allusion to another world, for sailors are almost all believers ; 



40 TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 

but their notions and opinions are unfixed and at loose ends. 
They say, — " God won't be hard upon the poor fellow," and 
seldom get beyond the common phrase which seems to imply 
that their sufferings and hard treatment here will excuse 
them hereafter, — 'To work hard, live hard, die hard, and go 
to hell after all, wotdd he hard indeed 1^^ Our cook, a simple- 
hearted old African, who had been through a good deal in 
his day, and was rather seriously inclined, always going to 
church twice a day when on shore, and reading his Bible 
on a Sunday in the galley, talked to the crew about spend- 
ing their Sabbaths badly, and told them that they might 
go as suddenly as George had, and be as little prepared. 

Yet a sailor's life is at best but a mixture of a little good 
with much evil, and a little pleasure with much pain. The 
beautiful is linked with the revolting, the sublime with the 
commonplace, and the solemn with the ludicrous. 

We had hardly returned on board with our sad report, 
before an auction was held of the poor man's clothes. The 
captain had first, however, called all hands aft and asked 
them if they were satisfied that everything had been done 
to save the man, and if they thought there was any use in 
remaining there longer. The crew all said that it was in 
vain, for the man did not know how to swim, and was very 
heavily dressed. So we then filled away and kept her off 
to her course. 

The laws regulating navigation make the captain answer- 
able for the effects of a sailor who dies during the voyage, 
and it is either a law or a universal custom, established for 
convenience, that the captain should immediately hold an 
auction of his things, in which they are bid off by the sailors, 
and the sums which they give are deducted from their wages 
at the end of the voyage. In this way the trouble and risk 
of keeping his things through the voyage are avoided, and 
the clothes are usually sold for more than they would be 
worth on shore. Accordingly, we had no sooner got the 
ship before the wind, than his chest was brought up upon the 
forecastle, and the sale began. The jackets and trowsers 



TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 41 

in which we had seen him dressed but a few days before, 
were exposed and bid off while the Hfe was hardly out of his 
body, and his chest was taken aft and used as a store-chest, 
so that there was nothing left which could be called his. 
Sailors have an unwillingness to wear a dead man's clothes 
during the same voyage, and they seldom do so unless they 
are in absolute want. 

cAs is usual after a death, many stories were told about 
George. Some had heard him say that he repented never 
having learned to swim, and that he knew that he should 
meet his death by drowning. Another said that he never 
knew any good to come of a voyage made against the will, 
and the deceased man shipped and spent his advance 
and was afterwards very unwilling to go, but not being 
able to refund, was obliged to sail with us. A boy, too, who 
had become quite attached to him, said that George talked 
to him during most of the watch on the night before, about 
his mother and family at home, and this was the first time 
that he had mentioned the subject during the voyage. 

The night after this event, when I went to the galley 
to get a light, I found the cook inclined to be talkative, so 
I sat down on the spars, and gave him an opportunity to 
hold a yarn. I was the more inclined to do so, as I found 
that he was full of the superstitions once more common 
among seamen, and which the recent death had waked up 
in his mind. He talked about George's having spoken of 
his friends, and said he believed few men died without 
having a warning of it, which he supported by a great many 
stories of dreams, and the unusual behavior of men before 
death. From this he went on to other superstitions, the 
Flying Dutchman, etc., and talked rather mysteriously, 
having something evidently on his mind. At length he put 
his head out of the galley and looked carefully about to 
see if any one was within hearing, and being satisfied on that 
point, asked me in a low tone — 

"I say! you know what countryman 'e carpenter be?" 

"Yes," said I; "he's a German." 



42 TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 

"What kind of a German?" said the cook. 

"He belongs to Bremen," said I. 

"Are you sure o' dat?" said he. 

I satisfied him on that point by saying that he could 
speak no language but the German and Enghsh. 

• "I'm plaguy glad o' dat," said the cook. "I was mighty 
'fraid he was a Fin. I tell you what, I been plaguy civil 
to that man all the voyage." 

I asked him the reason of this, and found that he was 
fully possessed with the notion that Fins are wizards, and 
especially have power over winds and storms. I tried to 
reason with him about it, but he had the best of all argu- 
ments, that from experience, at hand, and was not to be 
moved. He had been in a vessel at the Sandwich Islands, 
in which the sail-maker was a Fin, and could do anything 
he was of a mind to. This sail-maker kept a jmik bottle 
in his berth, which was always just half full of rum, though 
he got drunk upon it nearly every day. He had seen him 
sit for hours together, talking to this bottle, which he stood 
up before him on the table. The same man cut his throat 
in his berth, and everybody said he was possessed. 

He had heard of ships, too, beating up the gulf of Finland 
against a head wind, and having a ship heave in sight astern, 
overhaul and pass them, with as fair a wind as could blow, 
and all studding-sails out, and find she was from Finland. 

"Oh ho !" said he ; "I've seen too much of them men to 
want to see 'em 'board a ship. If they can't have their 
own way, they'll play the d 1 with you." 

As I still doubted, he said he would leave it to John, 
who was the oldest seaman aboard, and would know, if 
anybody did. John, to be sure, was the oldest, and at the 
same time the most ignorant, man in the ship ; but I con- 
sented to have him called. The cook stated the matter 
to him, and John, as I anticipated, sided with the cook, and 
said that he himself had been in a ship where they had a 
head wind for a fortnight, and the captain found out at last 
that one of the men, whom he had had some hard words with 



TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 43 

a short time before, was a Fin, and immediately told him if 
he didn't stop the head wind he would shut him down in 
the fore peak. The Fin would not give in, and the captain 
shut him down in the fore peak, and would not give him 
anything to eat. The Fin held out for a day and a half, 
when he could not stand it any longer, and did something 
or other which brought the wind round again, and they let 
him up. 

''There," said the cook, "what do you think o' dat?" 
I told him I had no doubt it was true, and that it would 
have been odd if the wind had not changed in fifteen days, 
Fin or no Fin. 

"Oh," says he, "go 'way ! You think, 'cause you been 
to college, you know better than anybody. You know 
better than them as 'as seen it with their own eyes. You 
wait till you've been to sea as long as I have, and you'll 
know." 



CHAPTER VII 

We continued sailing along with a fair wind and fine 
weather until 

Tuesday, Nov. 2$tk, when at daylight we saw the island 
of Juan Fernandez, directly ahead, rising like a deep blue 
cloud out of the sea. We were then probably nearly seventy 
miles from it ; and so high and so blue did it appear, that I 
mistook it for a cloud, resting over the island, and looked 
for the island under it, until it gradually turned to a deader 
and greener color, and I could mark the inequalities upon 
its surface. At length we could distinguish trees and rocks ; 
and by the afternoon, this beautiful island lay fairly before 
us, and we directed our course to the only harbor. Arriv- 
ing at the entrance soon after sun-down, we found a Chilian 
man-of-war brig, the only vessel, coming out. She hailed 
us, and an officer on board, whom we supposed to be an 
American, advised us to run in before night, and said that 
they were bound to Valparaiso. We ran immediately for 
the anchorage, but, owing to the winds which drew about 
the mountains and came to us in flaws from every point of 
the compass, we did not come to an anchor until nearly 
midnight. We had a boat ahead all the time that we were 
working in, and those aboard were continually bracing the 
yards about for every puff that struck us, until about 
12 o'clock, when we came- to in 40 fathoms water, and our 
anchor struck bottom for the first time since we left Boston 
— one hundred and three days. We were then divided 
into three watches, and thus stood out the remainder of the 
night. 

I was called on deck to stand my watch at about three 
in the morning, and I shall never forget the peculiar sensa- 
tion which I experienced on finding myself once more sur- 

44 



TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 45 

rounded by land, feeling the night breeze coming from off 
shore, and hearing the frogs and crickets. The mountains 
seemed almost to hang over us, and apparently from the 
very heart of them there came out, at regular intervals, 
a loud echoing sound, which affected me as hardly human. 
We saw no lights, and could hardly account for the sound, 
until the mate, who had been there before, told us that it 
was the "Alerta" of the Spanish soldiers, who were sta- 
tioned over some convicts confined in caves nearly halfway 
up the mountain. At the expiration of my watch I went 
below, feeling not a little anxious for the day, that I might 
see more nearly, and perhaps tread upon, this romantic, I 
may almost say, classic island. 

When all hands were called it was nearly sunrise, and 
between that time and breakfast, although quite busy 
on board in getting up water-casks, etc., I had a good view 
of the objects about me. The harbor was nearly land- 
locked, and at the head of it was a landing-place, protected 
by a small breakwater of stones, upon which two large 
boats were hauled up, with a sentry standing over them. 
Near this was a variety of huts or cottages, nearly a hun- 
dred in number, the best of them built of mud and white- 
washed, but the greater part only Robinson Crusoe like — 
of posts and branches of trees. The governor's house, as 
it is called, was the most conspicuous, being large, with 
grated windows, plastered walls, and roof of red tiles ; 
yet, like all the rest, only of one story. Near it was a small 
chapel, distinguished by a cross; and a long, low, brown- 
looking building, surrounded by something like a palisade, 
from which an old and dingy-looking Chilian flag was 
flying. This, of course, was dignified by the title of Pre- 
sidio. A sentinel was stationed at the chapel, another at 
the governor's house, and a few soldiers armed with bayo- 
nets, looking rather ragged, with shoes out at the toes, 
were strolling about among the houses, or waiting at the 
landing-place for our boat to come ashore. 

The mountains were high, but not so overhanging as 



46 TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 

they appeared to be by starlight. They seemed to bear 
off towards the centre of the island, and were green and 
well wooded, with some large, and, I am told, exceedingly 
fertile valleys, with mule-tracks leading to different parts 
of the island. 

I cannot here forget how my friend S and myself 

got the laugh of the crew upon us by our eagerness to get 
on shore. The captain having ordered the quarter-boat 
to be lowered, we both sprang down into the forecastle, 
filled our jacket pockets with tobacco to barter with the 
people ashore, and when the officer called for ''four hands 
in the boat," nearly broke our necks in our haste to be 
first over the side, and had the pleasure of pulling ahead 
of the brig with a tow-line for a half an hour, and coming 
on board again to be laughed at by the crew, who had seen 
our manoeuvre. 

After breakfast the second mate was ordered ashore 
with five hands to fill the water-casks, and to my joy I was 
among the number. We pulled ashore with the empty 
casks ; and here again fortune favored me, for the water 
was too thick and muddy to be put into the casks, and the 
governor had sent men up to the head of the stream to 
clear it out for us, which gave us nearly two hours of lei- 
sure. This leisure we employed in wandering about among 
the houses, and eating a little fruit which was offered to us. 
Ground apples, melons, grapes, strawberries of an enor- 
mous size, and cherries, abound here. The latter are said 
to have been planted by Lord Anson. The soldiers were 
miserably clad, and asked with some interest whether we 
had shoes to sell on board. I doubt very much if they had 
the means of buying them. They were very eager to get 
tobacco, for which they gave shells, fruits, etc. Knives 
also were in demand, but we were forbidden by the gov- 
ernor to let any one have them, as he told us that all the 
people there, except the soldiers and a few officers, were 
convicts sent from Valparaiso, and that it was necessary 
to keep all weapons from their hands. The island, it seems, 




tJ'NDEF^ DOUBLE-REEFED TOPSAILS 



^«AN OVERBOARO 



A^PROAGHING THE ISLAND OF JtiAN 
FERNANDEZ 



S — and mysel' 



aie. 



^ ...^,..^ ., .^>,-.-.-^-^a: i^.'imy6^ fiM€mi 



Cl! 



t9^M^9^^ ^^j^ 






TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 47 

belongs to Chili, and had been used by the government as 
a sort of Botany Bay for nearly two years ; and the gov- 
ernor — an Englishman who had entered the Chilian navy 
— with a priest, half a dozen task-masters, and a body of 
soldiers, were stationed there to keep them in order. This 
was no easy task ; and only a few months before our ar- 
rival, a few of them had stolen a boat at night, boarded a 
brig lying in the harbor, sent the captain and crew ashore 
in their boat, and gone off to sea. We were informed of 
this, and loaded our arms and kept strict watch on board 
through the night, and were careful not to let the convicts 
get our knives from us when on shore. The worst part of 
the convicts, I found, were locked up under sentry in caves 
dug into the side of the mountain, nearly halfway up, with 
mule-tracks leading to them, whence they were taken by 
day and set to work under task-masters upon building an 
aqueduct, a wharf, and other public works ; while the rest 
lived in the houses which they put up for themselves, had 
their families with them, and seemed to me to be the laziest 
people on the face of the earth. They did nothing but 
take a paseo into the woods, a paseo among the houses, 
a paseo at the landing-place, looking at us and our vessel, 
and too lazy to speak fast ; while the others were driving — 
or rather, driven — about, at a rapid trot, in single file, 
with burdens on their shoulders, and followed up by their 
task-masters, with long rods in their hands, and broad- 
brimmed straw hats upon their heads. Upon what precise 
grounds this great distinction was made, I do not know, 
and I could not very well know, for the governor was the 
only man who spoke English upon the island, and he was 
out of my walk. 

Having filled our casks, we returned on board, and soon 
after, the governor, dressed in a uniform like that of an 
American militia officer, the Padre, in the dress of the grey 
friars, with hood and all complete, and the Capifan, with 
big whiskers and dirty regimentals, came on board to dine. 
While at dinner, a large ship appeared in the offing, and 



48 TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 

soon afterwards we saw a light whale-boat pulling into the 
harbor. The ship lay off and on, and a boat came along- 
side of us, and put on board the captain, a plain young 
Quaker, dressed all in brown. The ship was the Cortes, 
whaleman, of New Bedford, and had put in to see if there 
were any vessels from round the Horn, and to hear the 
latest news from America. They remained aboard a short 
time and had a little talk with the crew, when they left us 
and pulled off to their ship, which, having filled away, 
was soon out of sight. 

A small boat which came from the shore to take away the 
governor and suite — as they styled themselves — brought, 
as a present to the crew, a large pail of milk, a few shells, and 
a block of sandal wood. The milk, which was the first we 
had tasted since leaving Boston, we soon despatched; a 
piece of the sandal wood I obtained, and learned that it 
grew on the hills in the centre of the island. I have always 
regretted that I did not bring away other specimens of the 
products of the island, having afterwards lost all that I 
had with me — the piece of sandal wood, and a small 
flower which I plucked and brought on board in the crown 
of my tarpaulin, and carefully pressed between the leaves 
of a book. 

About an hour before sun-down, having stowed our water- 
casks, we commenced getting under weigh, and were not a 
little while about it ; for we were in thirty fathoms water, 
and in one of the gusts which came from off shore had let 
go our other bow anchor ; and as the southerly wind draws 
round the mountains and comes off in uncertain flaws, we 
were continually swinging round, and had thus got a very 
foul hawse. We hove in upon our chain, and after stopper- 
ing and unshackling it again and again, and hoisting and 
hauling down sail, we at length tipped our anchor and stood 
out to sea. It was bright starlight when we were clear of 
the bay, and the lofty island lay behind us, in its still beauty, 
and I gave a parting look, and bid farewell, to the most 
romantic spot of earth that my eyes had ever seen. I did 



TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 49 

then, and have ever since, felt an attachment for that island, 
altogether peculiar. It was partly, no doubt, from its 
having been the first land that I had seen since leaving 
home, and still more from the associations which every one 
has connected with it in their childhood from reading RobiD- 
son Crusoe. To this I may add the height and romantic 
outline of its mountains, the beauty and freshness of its 
verdure, and the extreme fertility of its soil, and its solitary 
position in the midst of the wide expanse of the South 
Pacific, as all concurring to give it its peculiar charm. 

When thoughts of this place have occurred to me at 
different times, I have endeavored to recall more particulars 
with regard to it. It is situated in about 33° 30' S., and is 
distant a little more than three hundred miles from Val- 
paraiso, on the coast of Chili, which is in the same latitude. 
It is about fifteen miles in length and five in breadth. 
The harbor in which we anchored (called by Lord Anson, 
Cumberland bay) is the only one in the island ; two small 
bights of land on each side of the main bay (sometimes 
dignified by the name of bays) being little more than land- 
ing-places for boats. The best anchorage is at the western 
side of the bay, where we lay at about three cables' lengths 
from the shore, in a little more than thirty fathoms water. 
This harbor is open to the N.N.E., and in fact nearly from 
N. to E,, but the only dangerous winds being the south-west, 
on which side are the highest mountains, it is considered 
very safe. The most remarkable thing perhaps about it is 
the fish with which it abounds. Two of our crew, who 
remained on board, caught in a few minutes enough to last 
us for several days, and one of the men, who was a Marble- 
head man, said that he never saw or heard of such an 
abundance. There were cod, breams, silver-fish, and other 
kinds whose names they did not know, or which I have 
forgotten. 

There is an abundance of the best of water upon the 
island, small streams running through every valley, and 
leaping down from the sides of the hills. One stream of 



50 TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 

considerable size flows through the centre of the lawn upon 
which the houses are built, and furnishes an easy and abun- 
dant supply to the inhabitants. This, by means of a short 
wooden aqueduct, was brought quite down to our boats. 
The convicts had also built something in the way of a break- 
water, and were to build a landing-place for boats and goods, 
after which the Chilian government intended to lay port 
charges. 

Of the wood I can only say, that it appeared to be abun- 
dant ; the island in the month of November, when we were 
there, being in all the freshness and beauty of spring, ap- 
peared covered with trees. These were chiefly aromatic, 
and the largest was the myrtle. The soil is very loose and 
rich, and wherever it is broken up, there spring up immedi- 
ately radishes, turnips, ground apples, and other garden 
fruits. Goats, we were told, were not abundant, and we 
saw none, though it was said we might, if we had gone into 
the interior. We saw a few bullocks winding about in the 
narrow tracks upon the sides of the mountains, and the 
settlement was completely overrun with dogs of every 
nation, kindred, and degree. Hens and chickens were 
also abundant, and seemed to be taken good care of by the 
women. The men appeared to be the laziest people upon 
the face of the earth ; and indeed, as far as my observation 
goes, there are no people to whom the newly-invented Yan- 
kee word of "loafer" is more applicable than to the Spanish 
Americans. These men stood about doing nothing, with 
their cloaks, little better in texture than an Indian's blanket, 
but of rich colors, thrown over their shoulders with an air 
which it is said that a Spanish beggar can always give to 
his rags; and with great politeness and courtesy in their 
address, though with holes in their shoes and without a 
sou in their pockets. The only interruption to the monot- 
ony of their day seemed to be when a gust of wind drew 
round between the mountains and blew off the boughs 
which they had placed for roofs to their houses, and gave 
them a few minutes' occupation in running about after 



TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 51 

them. One of these gusts occurred while we were ashore, 
and afforded us no Httle amusement at seeing the men 
look round, and if they found that their roofs had stood, 
conclude that they might stand too, while those who saw 
theirs blown off, after uttering a few Spanish oaths, gathered 
their cloaks over their shoulders, and started off after them. 
However, they were not gone long, but soon returned to 
their habitual occupation of doing nothing. 

It is perhaps needless to say that we saw nothing of the 
interior; but all who have seen it, give very glowing ac- 
counts of it. Our captain went with the governor and a 
few servants upon mules over the mountains, and upon 
their return, I heard the governor request him to stop at 
the island on his passage home, and offer him a handsome 
sum to bring a few deer with him from California, for he 
said that there were none upon the island, and he was very 
desirous of having it stocked. 

A steady, though light south-westerly wind carried us 
well off from the island, and when I came on deck for the 
middle watch I could just distinguish it from its hiding a 
few low stars in the southern horizon, though my unprac- 
tised eyes would hardly have known it for land. At the 
close of the watch a few trade-wind clouds which had 
arisen, though we were hardly yet in their latitude, shut it 
out from our view, and the next day, 

Thursday, Nov. 2'jth, upon coming on deck in the morn- 
ing, we were again upon the wide Pacific, and saw no more 
land until we arrived upon the western coast of the great 
continent of America. 



CHAPTER VIII 

As we saw neither land nor sail from the time of leaving 
Juan Fernandez until our arrival in CaUfornia, nothing of 
interest occurred except our own doings on board. We 
caught the south-east trades, and run before them for nearly 
three weeks, without so much as altering a sail or bracing 
a yard. The captain took advantage of this fine weather 
to get the vessel in order for coming upon the coast. The 
carpenter was employed in fitting up a part of the steerage 
into a trade-room ; for our cargo, we now learned, was not 
to be landed, but to be sold by retail from on board ; and 
this trade-room was built for the samples and the lighter 
goods to be kept in, and as a place for the general business. 
In the mean time we were employed in working upon the 
rigging. Everything was set up taught, the lower rigging 
rattled down, or rather rattled up, (according to the modern 
fashion,) an abundance of spun-yarn and seizing-stuff 
made, and finally, the whole standing-rigging, fore and aft, 
was tarred down. This was my first essay at this latter 
business, and I had enough of it ; for nearly all of it came 

upon my friend S and myself. The men were needed 

at the other work, and M , the other young man who 

came out with us, was laid up with the rheumatism in his 
feet, and the boy was rather too young and small for the 
business ; and as the winds were light and regular, he was 
kept during most of the daytime at the helm ; so that nearly 
all the tarring came upon us. We put on short duck frocks, 
and taking a small bucket of tar and a bunch of oakum in 
our hands, went aloft, one at the main royal-mast-head 
and the other at the fore, and began tarring down. This 
is an important operation, and is usually done about once 
in six months in vessels upon a long voyage. It was done 

52 



TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 53 

in our vessel several times afterwards, but by the whole 
crew at once, and finished off in a day ; but at this time, 
as most of it came upon two of us, and we were new at the 
business, it took us several days. In this operation they 
always begin at the mast-head and work down, tarring the 
shrouds, back-stays, standing parts of the lifts, the ties, 
runners, etc., and go out to the yard-arms, and come in, 
tarring, as they come, the lifts and foot-ropes. Tarring 
the stays is more difl&cult, and is done by an operation 
which the sailors call "riding down." A long piece of rope 
— top-gallant-studding-sail halyards, or something of the 
kind — is taken up to the mast-head from which the stay 
leads, and rove through a block for a girt-line, or, as the 
sailors usually call it, a gant-line; with the end of this a 
bowline is taken round the stay, into which the man gets 
with his bucket of tar and a bunch of oakum, and the 
other end being fast on deck, with some one to tend it, he 
is lowered down gradually, and tars the stay carefully as 
he goes. There he "swings aloft 'twixt heaven and earth," 
and if the rope slips, breaks, or is let go, or if the bowline 
slips, he falls overboard or breaks his neck. This, however, 
is a thing which never enters into a sailor's calculation. 
He only thinks of leaving no holydays, (places not tarred,) 
for in case he should, he would have to go over the whole 
again; or of dropping no tar upon deck, for then there 
would be a soft word in his ear from the mate. In this man- 
ner I tarred down all the head-stays, but found the rigging 
about the jib-booms, martingale, and spritsail yard, upon 
which I was afterwards put, the hardest. Here you have 
to hang on with your eye-lids and tar with your hands. 

This dirty work could not last forever, and on Saturday 
night we finished it, scraped all the spots from the deck and 
rails, and, what was of more importance to us, cleaned our- 
selves thoroughly, rolled up our tarry frocks and trowsers 
and laid them away for the next occasion, and put on our 
clean duck clothes, and had a good comfortable sailor's 
Saturday night. The next day was pleasant, and indeed 



54 TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 

we had but one unpleasant Sunday during the whole voyage, 
and that was off Cape Horn, where we could expect nothing 
better. On Monday we commenced painting, and getting 
the vessel ready for port. This work, too, is done by the 
crew, and every sailor who has been long voyages is a little 
of a painter, in addition to his other accomplishments. We 
painted her, both inside and out, from the truck to the 
water's edge. The outside is painted by lowering stages 
over the side by ropes, and on those we sat, with our brushes 
and paint-pots by us, and our feet half the time in the water. 
This must be done, of course, on a smooth day, when the 
vessel does not roll much. I remember very well being over 
the side painting in this way, one fine afternoon, our vessel 
going quietly along at the rate of four or five knots, and a 
pilot-fish, the sure precursor of a shark, swimming alongside 
of us. The captain was leaning over the rail watching him, 
and we went quietly on with our work. In the midst of 
our painting, on 

Friday, Dec. igth, we crossed the equator for the second 
time. I had the feeling which all have when, for the first 
time, they find themselves living under an entire change of 
seasons ; as, crossing the line under a burning sun in the 
midst of December, and, as I afterwards was, beating about 
among ice and snow on the fourth of July. 

Thursday, Dec. 2$th. This day was Christmas, but it 
brought us no holiday. The only change was that we had 
a "plum duff " for dinner, and the crew quarrelled with the 
steward because he did not give us our usual allowance of 
molasses to eat with it. He thought the plums would be a 
substitute for the molasses, but we were not to be cheated 
out of our rights in this way. 

Such are the trifles which produce quarrels on shipboard. 
In fact, we had been too long from port. We were getting 
tired of one another, and were in an irritable state, both 
forward and aft. Our fresh provisions were, of course, 
gone, and the captain had stopped our rice, so that we had 
nothing but salt beef and salt pork throughout the week, 



TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 55 

with the exception of a very small duff on Sunday. This 
added to the discontent ; and a thousand little things, daily 
and almost hourly occurring, which no one who has not 
himself been on a long and tedious voyage can conceive of 
or properly appreciate, — little wars and rumors of wars, — 
reports of things said in the cabin, — misunderstanding of 
words and looks, — apparent abuses, — brought us into a 
state in which everything seemed to go wrong. Every 
encroachment upon the time allowed for rest, appeared 
unnecessary. Every shifting of the studding-sails was 
only to ^^haze "^ the crew. 

In the midst of this state of things, my messmate S 

and myself petitioned the captain for leave to shift our 
berths from the steerage, where we had previously lived, 
into the forecastle. This, to our delight, was granted, and 
we turned in to hunk and mess with the crew forward. 
We now began to feel like sailors, which we never fully did 
when we were in the steerage. While there, however useful 
and active you may be, you are but a mongrel, — and sort 
of afterguard and "ship's cousin." You are immediately 
under the eye of the officers, cannot dance, sing, play, smoke, 
make a noise, or growl {i.e. complain), or take any other 
sailor's pleasure; and you live with the steward, who is 
usually a go-between; and the crew never feel as though 
you were one of them. But if you live in the forecastle, 
you are "as independent as a wood-sawyer's clerk" (nau- 
tice), and are a sailor. You hear sailors' talk, learn their 
ways, their peculiarities of feeling as well as speaking and 
acting ; and moreover pick up a great deal of curious and 
useful information in seamanship, ship's customs, foreign 
countries, etc., from their long yarns and equally long dis- 
putes. No man can be a sailor, or know what sailors are, 
unless he has lived in the forecastle with them — turned in 

^ Haze is a word of frequent use on board ship, and never, I believe, used 
elsewhere. It is very expressive to a sailor, and means to punish by hard 
work. Let an officer once say, " I'll haze you," and your fate is fixed. You 
will be " worked up," if you are not a better man than he is. 



S6 TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 

and out with them, eaten of their dish and drank of their 
cup. After I had been a week there, nothing would have 
tempted me to go back to my old berth, and never after- 
wards, even in the worst of weather, when in a close and 
leaking forecastle off Cape Horn, did I for a moment wish 
myself in the steerage. Another thing which you learn 
better in the forecastle than you can anywhere else, is, 
to make and mend clothes, and this is indispensable to 
sailors. A large part of their watches below they spend 
at this work, and here I learned that art which stood me in 
so good stead afterwards. 

But to return to the state of the crew. Upon our com- 
ing into the forecastle, there was some difficulty about 
the uniting of the allowances of bread, by which we thought 
we were to lose a few pounds. This set us into a ferment. 
The captain would not condescend to explain, and we went 
aft in a body, with a Swede, the oldest and best sailor of the 
crew, for spokesman. The recollection of the scene that 
followed always brings up a smile, especially the quarter- 
deck dignity and eloquence of the captain. He was walk- 
ing the weather side of the quarter-deck, and seeing us 
coming aft, stopped short in his walk, and with a voice 
and look intended to annihilate us, called out, "Well, what 
do you want now ? " Whereupon we stated our grievances 
as respectfully as we could, but he broke in upon us, saying 
that we were getting fat and lazy, didn't have enough to do, 
and that made us find fault. This provoked us, and we 
began to give word for word. This would never answer. 
He clenched his fist, stamped and swore, and sent us all 
forward, saying, with oaths enough interspersed to send the 
words home, — "Away with you ! go forward every one 
of you ! I'll haze you ! I'll work you up ! You don't have 

enough to do ! You've mistaken your man. I'm F 

T , all the way from ' down east.' I've been through the 

mill, ground, and bolted, and come out a regular-built 
down-east johnny-cake, good when it's hot, but when it's 
cold, sour and indigestible; — and you'll find me so!" 



TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 57 

The latter part of this harangue I remember well, for it made 
a strong impression, and the "down-east johnny-cake" 
became a by-word for the rest of the voyage. So much for 
our petition for the redress of grievances. The matter was 
however set right, for the mate, after allowing the captain 
due time to cool off, explained it to him, and at night we 
were all called aft to hear another harangue, in which, of 
course, the whole blame of the misunderstanding was thrown 
upon us. We ventured to hint that he would not give us 
time to explain ; but it wouldn't do. We were driven back 
discomfited. Thus the affair blew over, but the irritation 
caused by it remained ; and we never had peace or a good 
understanding again so long as the captain and crew re- 
mained together. 

We continued sailing along in the beautiful temperate 
climate of the Pacific. The Pacific well deserves its name, 
for except in the southern part, at Cape Horn, and in the 
western parts, near the China and Indian oceans, it has few 
storms, and is never either extremely hot or cold. Between 
the tropics there is a slight haziness, like a thin gauze, 
drawn over the sun, which, without obstructing or obscuring 
the light, tempers the heat which comes down with perpen- 
dicular fierceness in the Atlantic and Indian tropics. We 
sailed well to the westward to have the full advantage 
of the north-east trades, and when we had reached the 
latitude of Point Conception, where it is usual to make 
the land, we were several hundred miles to the westward 
of it. We immediately changed our course due east, and 
sailed in that direction for a number of days. At length 
we began to heave-to after dark, for fear of making the 
land at night on a coast where there are no light-houses 
and but indifferent charts, and at daybreak on the 
morning of 

Tuesday, Jan. iT^th, 1835, we made the land at Point 
Conception, lat. 34° 32' N., long. 120° 06' W. The port of 
Santa Barbara, to which we were bound, lying about sixty 
miles to the southward of this point, we continued sailing 



58 TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 

down the coast during the day and following night, and 
on the next morning, 

Jan. 14th, 1835, we came to anchor in the spacious bay 
of Santa Barbara, after a voyage of one hundred and fifty 
days from Boston. 



CHAPTER rX 

California extends along nearly the whole of the western 
coast of Mexico, between the gulf of California in the south 
and the bay of Sir Francis Drake on the north, or between 
the 2 2d and 38th degrees of north latitude. It is sub- 
divided into two provinces — Lower or Old California, lying 
between the gulf and the 3 2d degree of latitude, or near it 
(the division hne running, I believe, between the bay of 
Todos Santos and the port of San Diego) ; and New or 
Upper California, the southernmost port of which is San 
Diego, in lat. 3 2° -39', and the northernmost, San Francisco, 
situated in the large bay discovered by Sir Francis Drake, 
in lat. 37° 58', and called after him by the EngKsh, though 
the Mexicans call it Yerba Buena. Upper California has 
the seat of its government at Monterey, where is also the 
custom-house, the only one on the coast, and at which every 
vessel intending to trade on the coast must enter its cargo 
before it can commence its traffic. We were to trade upon 
this coast exclusively, and therefore expected to go to 
Monterey at first ; but the captain's orders from home were 
to put in at Santa Barbara, which is the central port of the 
coast, and wait there for the agent who lives there, and 
transacts all the business for the firm to which our vessel 
belonged. 

The bay, or, as it was commonly called, the canal of 
Santa Barbara, is very large, being formed by the main 
land on one side (between Point Conception on the north 
and Point St. Buena Ventura on the south), which here 
bends in like a crescent, and three large islands opposite to 
it, and at the distance of twenty miles. This is just sufficient 
to give it the name of a bay, while at the same time it is so 
large and so much exposed to the south-east and north-west 

59 



6o TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 

winds, that it is little better than an open roadstead ; and 
the whole swell of the Pacific ocean rolls in here before a 
south-easter, and breaks with so heavy a surf in the shallow 
waters, that it is highly dangerous to lie near in to the shore 
during the south-easter season, that is, between the months 
of November and April, 

This wind (the south-easter) is the bane of the coast of 
Cahfornia. Between the months of November and April 
(including a part of each), which is the rainy season in this 
latitude, you are never safe from it, and accordingly, in the 
ports which are open to it, vessels are obliged, during these 
months, to lie at anchor at a distance of three miles from 
the shore, with slip-ropes on their cables, ready to slip and 
go to sea at a moment's warning. The only ports which are 
safe from this wind are San Francisco and Monterey in the 
north, and San Diego in the south. 

As it was January when we arrived, and the middle of 
the south-easter season, we accordingly came to anchor at 
the distance of three miles from the shore, in eleven fathoms 
water, and bent a slip-rope and buoys to our cables, cast 
off the yard-arm gaskets from the sails, and stopped them 
all with rope-yarns. After we had done this, the boat 
went ashore with the captain, and returned with orders to 
the mate to send a boat ashore for him at sundown. I did 
not go in the first boat, and was glad to find that there was 
another going before night; for after so long a voyage as 
ours had been, a few hours is long to pass in sight and out of 
reach of land. We spent the day on board in the usual 
avocations; but as this was the first time we had been 
without the captain, we felt a little more freedom, and 
looked about us to see what sort of a country we had got 
into, and were to spend a year or two of our lives in. 

In the first place, it was a beautiful day, and so warm that 
we had on straw hats, duck trowsers, and all the summer 
gear; and as this was mid-winter, it spoke well for the 
chmate; and we afterwards found that the thermometer 
never fell to the freezing point throughout the winter, and 



TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 6i 

that there was very little difference between the seasons, 
except that during a long period of rainy and south-easterly 
weather, thick clothes were not uncomfortable. 

The large bay lay about us, nearly smooth, as there was 
hardly a breath of wind stirring, though the boat's crew who 
went ashore told us that the long ground swell broke into a 
heavy surf on the beach. There was only one vessel in the 
port — a long, sharp brig of about 300 tons, with raking 
masts and very square yards, and English colors at her 
peak. We afterwards learned that she was built at Guaya- 
quil, and named the Ayacucho, after the place where the 
battle was fought that gave Peru her independence, and 
was now owned by a Scotchman named Wilson, who com- 
manded her, and was engaged in the trade between Callao, 
the Sandwich Islands, and California. She was a fast 
sailer, as we frequently afterwards perceived, and had a 
crew of Sandwich Islanders on board. Beside this vessel 
there was no object to break the surface of the bay. Two 
points ran out as the horns of the crescent, one of which — 
the one to the westward — was low and sandy, and is that 
to which vessels are obliged to give a wide berth when run- 
ning out for a south-easter; the other is high, bold, and 
well wooded, and, we were told, has a mission upon it, 
called St. Buenaventura, from which the point is named. 
In the middle of this crescent, directly opposite the anchor- 
ing groimd, lie the mission and town of Santa Barbara, on a 
low, flat plain, but little above the level of the sea, covered 
with grass, though entirely without trees, and surrounded on 
three sides by an amphitheatre of mountains, which slant off 
to the distance of fifteen or twenty miles. The mission stands 
back a little of the town, and is a large building, or rather 
collection of buildings, in the centre of which is a high tower, 
with a belfry of five bells ; and the whole, being plastered, 
makes quite a show at a distance, and is the mark by which 
vessels come to anchor. The town lies a little nearer to 
the beach — about half a mile from it — and is composed 
of one-story houses built of brown clay — some of them 



62 TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 

plastered — with red tiles on the roofs. I should judge 
that there were about an hundred of them; and in the 
midst of them stands the Presidio, or fort, built of the same 
materials, and apparently but little stronger. The town is 
certainly finely situated, with a bay in front, and an amphi- 
theatre of hills behind. The only thing which diminishes 
its beauty is, that the hills have no large trees upon them, 
they having been all burnt by a great fire which swept them 
off about a dozen years before, and they had not yet grown 
up again. The fire was described to me by an inhabitant, 
as having been a very terrible and magnificent sight. The 
air of the whole valley was so heated that the people were 
obhged to leave the town and take up their quarters for 
several days upon the beach. 

Just before sun-down the mate ordered a boat's crew 
ashore, and I went as one of the number. We passed under 
the stern of the English brig, and had a long pull ashore. I 
shall never forget the impression which our first landing on 
the beach of California made upon me. The sun had just 
gone down ; it was getting dusky ; the damp night wind 
was beginning to blow, and the heavy swell of the Pacific 
was setting in, and breaking in loud and high "combers" 
upon the beach. We lay on our oars in the swell, just out- 
side of the surf, waiting for a good chance to run in, when a 
boat, which had put off from the Ayacucho just after us, 
came alongside of us, with a crew of dusky Sandwich Island- 
ers, talking and hallooing in their outlandish tongue. They 
knew that we were novices in this kind of boating, and 
waited to see us go in. The second mate, however, who 
steered our boat, determined to have the advantage of their 
experience, and would not go in first. Finding, at length, 
how matters stood, they gave a shout, and taking advantage 
of a great comber which came swelling in, rearing its head, 
and lifting up the stern of our boat nearly perpendicular, 
and again dropping it in the trough, they gave three or four 
long and strong pulls, and went in on top of the great wave, 
throwing their oars overboard, and as far from the boat 



TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 63 

as they could throw them, and jumping out the instant 
that the boat touched the beach, and then seizing hold of 
her and running her up high and dry upon the sand. We 
saw, at once, how it was to be done, and also the necessity 
of keeping the boat "stern on" to the sea ; for the instant the 
sea should strike upon her broad-side or- quarter, she would 
be driven up broad-side on, and capsized. We pulled strongly 
in, and as soon as we felt that the sea had got hold of us 
and was carrying us in with the speed of a race-horse, 
we threw the oars as far from the boat as we could, and took 
hold of the gunwale, ready to spring out and seize her 
when she struck, the officer using his utmost strength to 
keep her stern on. We were shot up upon the beach like 
an arrow from a bow, and seizing the boat, ran her up high 
and dry, and soon picked up our oars, and stood by her, 
ready for the captain to come down. 

Finding that the captain did not come immediately, we 
put our oars in the boat, and leaving one to watch it, walked 
about the beach to see what we could, of the place. The 
beach is nearly a mile in length between the two points, and 
of smooth sand. We had taken the only good landing- 
place, which is in the middle ; it being more stony toward 
the ends. It is about twenty yards in width from high- 
water mark to a slight bank at which the soil begins, and so 
hard that it is a favorite place for running horses. It was 
growing dark, so that we could just distinguish the dim out- 
lines of the two vessels in the offing ; and the great seas were 
rolling in, in regular lines, growing larger and larger as they 
approached the shore, and hanging over the beach upon 
which they were to break, when their tops would curl over 
and turn white with foam, and, beginning at one extreme of 
the line, break rapidly to the other, as a long card-house 
falls when the children knock down the cards at one end. 
The Sandwich Islanders, in the mean time, had turned their 
boat round, and ran her down into the water, and were 
loading her with hides and tallow. As this was the work 
in which we were soon to be engaged, we looked on with 



64 TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 

some curiosity. They ran the boat into the water so far 
that every large sea might float her, and two of them, with 
their trowsers rolled up, stood by the bows, one on each 
side, keeping her in her right position. This was hard work ; 
for beside the force they had to use upon the boat, the large 
seas nearly took them off their legs. The others were 
running from the boat to the bank, upon which, out of the 
reach of the water, was a pile of dry bullocks' hides, doubled 
lengthwise in the middle, and nearly as stiff as boards. 
These they took upon their heads, one or two at a time, and 
carried down to the boat, where one of their number stowed 
them away. They were obliged to carry them on their 
heads, to keep them out of the water, and we observed 
that they had on thick woollen caps. "Look here. Bill, and 
see what you're coming to ! " said one of our men to another 

who stood by the boat. "Well, D ," said the second 

mate to me, "this does not look much like Cambridge col- 
lege, does it? This is what I call ^head work.'' " To tell 
the truth, it did not look very encouraging. 

After they had got through with the hides, they laid hold 
of the bags of tallow (the bags are made of hide, and are 
about the size of a common meal bag) , and lifting each upon 
the shoulders of two men, one at each end, walked off with 
them to the boat, and prepared to go aboard. Here, too, 
was something for us to learn. The man who steered, 
shipped his oar and stood up in the stern, and those that 
pulled the after oars sat upon their benches, with their oars 
shipped, ready to strike out as soon as she was afloat. 
The two men at the bows kept their places ; and when, at 
length, a large sea came in and floated her, seized hold of 
the gunwale, and ran out with her till they were up to their 
armpits, and then tumbled over the gunwale into the bows, 
dripping with water. The men at the oars struck out, but 
it wouldn't do ; the sea swept back and left them nearly 
high and dry. The two fellows jumped out again ; and the 
next time they succeeded better, and, with the help of a 
deal of outlandish hallooing and bawling, got her well off. 



WE THREW THE OARS AS FAR FROM THE 
BOAT AS WE COULD 






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TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 65 

We watched them till they were out of the breakers, and 
saw them steering for their vessel, which was now hidden in 
the darkness. 

The sand of the beach began to be cold to our bare feet ; 
the frogs set up their croaking in the m.arshes, and one 
solitary owl, from the end of the distant point, gave out his 
melancholy note, mellowed by the distance, and we began 
to think that it was high time for "the old man," as the 
captain is generally called, to come down. In a few min- 
utes we heard something coming towards us. It was a 
man on horseback. He came up on the full gallop, reined 
up near us, addressed a few words to us, and receiving no 
answer, wheeled round and galloped off again. He was 
nearly as dark as an Indian, with a large Spanish hat, 
blanket cloak or surreppa, and leather leggins, with a long 
knife stuck in them. "This is the seventh city that ever 
I was in, and no Christian one neither," said Bill Brown. 
"Stand by!" said Tom, "you haven't seen the worst of 
it yet." In the midst of this conversation the captain 
appeared; and we winded the boat round, shoved her 
down, and prepared to go off. The captain, who had 
been on the coast before and "knew the ropes," took the 
steering oar, and we went off in the same way as the other 
boat. I, being the youngest, had the pleasure of standing 
at the bow, and getting wet through. We went off well, 
though the seas were high. Some of them lifted us up, and 
sliding from under us, seemed to let us drop through the 
air like a flat plank upon the body of the water. In a few 
minutes we were in the low, regular swell, and pulled for a 
light, which, as we came up, we found had been run up to 
our trysail gaff. 

Coming aboard, we hoisted up all the boats, and diving 
down into the forecastle, changed our wet clothes, and got 
our supper. After supper the sailors lighted their pipes 
(cigars, those of us who had them), and we had to tell all 
we had seen ashore. Then followed conjectures about the 
people ashore, the length of the voyage, carrying hides, etc., 



66 TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 

until eight bells, when all hands were called aft, and the 
" anchor watch" set. We were to stand two in a watch, and 
as the nights were pretty long, two hours were to make a 
watch. The second mate was to keep the deck until eight 
o'clock, and all hands were to be called at daybreak, and 
the word was passed to keep a bright look-out, and to call 
the mate if it should come on to blow from the south-east. 
We had also orders to strike the bells every half hour 
through the night, as at sea. My watchmate was John, the 
Swedish sailor, and we stood from twelve to two, he walking 
the larboard side, and I the starboard. At dayhght all 
hands were called, and we went through the usual process 
of washing down, swabbing, etc., and got breakfast at 
eight o'clock. In the course of the forenoon, a boat went 
aboard of the Ayacucho and brought off a quarter of beef, 
which made us a fresh bite for dinner. This we were glad 
enough to have, and the mate told us that we should Hve 
upon fresh beef while we were on the coast, as it was cheaper 
here than the salt. While at dinner, the cook called, "Sail 
ho !" and coming on deck, we saw two sails coming round 
the point. One was a large ship under top-gallant sails, and 
the other a small hermaphrodite brig. They both backed 
their topsails and sent boats aboard of us. The ship's 
colors had puzzled us, and we found that she was from 
Genoa, with an assorted cargo, and was trading on the 
coast. She filled away again, and stood out ; being bound 
up the coast to San Francisco. The crew of the brig's boat 
were Sandwich Islanders, but one of them, who spoke a 
little Enghsh, told us that she was the Loriotte, Captain Nye, 
from Oahu, and was engaged in this trade. She was a limip 
of a thing — what the sailors call a butter-box. This 
vessel, as well as the Ayaciicko, and others which we after- 
wards saw engaged in the same trade, have Enghsh or 
Americans for officers, and two or three before the mast to 
do the work upon the rigging, and to rely upon for seaman- 
ship, while the rest of the crew are Sandwich Islanders, 
who are active, and very useful in boating. 



TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 67 

The three captains went ashore after dinner, and came 
off again at night. When in port, everything is attended 
to by the chief mate; the captain, unless he is also super- 
cargo, has Httle to do, and is usually ashore much of his 
time. This we thought would be pleasanter for us, as the 
mate was a good-natured man and not very strict. So it 
was for a time, but we were worse off in the end; for 
wherever the captain is a severe, energetic man, and the 
mate is wanting in both these qualities, there will always 
be trouble. And trouble we had already begun to antici- 
pate. The captain had several times found fault with the 
mate, in presence of the crew ; and hints had been dropped 
that all was not right between them. When this is the 
case, and the captain suspects that his chief officer is too 
easy and familiar with the crew, then he begins to interfere 
in all the duties, and to draw the reins taughter, and the 
crew have to suffer. 



CHAPTER X 

This night, after sundown, it looked black at the south- 
ward and eastward, and we were told to keep a bright 
look-out. Expecting to be called up, we turned in early. 
Waking up about midnight, I found a man who had just 
come down from his watch, striking a hght. He said that 
it was beginning to puff up from the south-east, and that 
the sea was rolling in, and he had called the captain ; and 
as he threw himself down on his chest with all his clothes 
on, I knew that he expected to be called. I felt the vessel 
pitching at her anchor, and the chain surging and snapping, 
and lay awake, expecting an instant summons. In a few 
minutes it came — three knocks on the scuttle, and "All 
hands ahoy ! bear-a-hand up and make sail." We sprang 
up for our clothes, and were about halfway dressed, when 
the mate called out, down the scuttle, "Tumble up here, 
men ! tumble up ! before she drags her anchor." We were 
on deck in an instant. "Lay aloft and loose the topsails ! " 
shouted the captain, as soon as the first man showed him- 
self. Springing into the rigging, I saw that the Ayacucho's 
topsails were loosed, and heard her crew singing-out at 
the sheets as they were hauhng them home. This had 
probably started our captain ; as "old Wilson" (the captain 
of the Ayacucho) had been many years on the coast, and 
knew the signs of the weather. We soon had the topsails 
loosed ; and one hand remaining, as usual, in each top, to 
overhaul the rigging and light the sail out, the rest of us 
laid down to man the sheets. While sheeting home, we 
saw the Ayacucho standing athwart our bows, sharp upon 
the wind, cutting through the head sea Hke a knife, with her 
raking masts and sharp bows running up hke the head of 
a greyhound. It was a beautiful sight. She was like a bird 

68 



TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 69 

which had been frightened and had spread her wings in 
flight. After the topsails had been sheeted home, the head 
yards braced aback, the fore-top-mast staysail hoisted, 
and the buoys streamed, and all ready forward, for sHpping, 
we went aft and manned the slip-rope which came through 
the stern port with a turn round the timber-heads. "All 
ready forward?" asked the captain. "Aye, aye, sir; all 
ready," answered the mate. "Let go ! " "All gone, sir ; " 
and the iron cable grated over the windlass and through the 
hawse-hole, and the little vessel's head swinging off from 
the wind under the force of her backed head sails, brought 
the strain upon the slip-rope. "Let go aft!" Instantly 
all was gone, and we were under weigh. As soon as she 
was well off from the wind, we filled away the head yards, 
braced all up sharp, set the foresail and trysail, and left our 
anchorage well astern, giving the point a good berth. 
"Nye's off too," said the captain to the mate; and looking 
astern, we could just see the little hermaphrodite brig under 
sail standing after us. 

It now began to blow fresh ; the rain fell fast, and it grew 
very black; but the captain would not take in sail until 
we were well clear of the point. As soon as we left this 
on our quarter, and were standing out to sea, the order Jwas 
given, and we sprang aloft, double reefed each topsail, 
furled the foresail, and double reefed the trysail, and were 
soon under easy sail. In these cases of slipping for south- 
easters, there is nothing to be done, after you have got clear 
of the coast, but to He-to under easy sail, and wait for the 
gale to be over, which seldom lasts more than two days, and 
is often over in twelve hours; but the wind never comes 
back to the southward until there has a good deal of rain 
fallen. "Go below the watch," said the mate; but here 
was a dispute which watch it should be, which the mate 
soon however settled by sending his watch below, saying 
that we should have our turn the next time we got under 
weigh. We remained on deck till the expiration of the 
watch, the wind blowing very fresh and the rain coming 



70 TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 

down in torrents. When the watch came up, we wore 
ship, and stood on the other tack, in towards land. When 
we came up again, which was at four in the morning, it was 
very dark, and there was not much wind, but it was rain- 
ing as I thought I had never seen it rain before. We had 
on oil-cloth suits and south-wester caps, and had nothing to 
do but to stand bolt upright and let it pour down upon us. 
There are no umbrellas, and no sheds to go under, at sea. 

While we were standing about on deck, we saw the little 
brig drifting by us, hove to under her fore topsail double 
reefed ; and she glided by like a phantom. Not a word was 
spoken, and we saw no one on deck but the man at the 
wheel. Toward morning the captain put his head out of 
the companion-way and told the second mate, who com- 
manded our watch, to look out for a change of wind, which 
usually followed a calm and heavy rain ; and it was well 
that he did ; for in a few minutes it fell dead calm, the vessel 
lost her steerage-way, and the rain ceased. We hauled up 
the trysail and courses, squared the after yards, and waited 
for the change, which came in a few minutes, with a ven- 
geance, from the north-west, the opposite point of the com- 
pass. Owing to our precautions, we were not taken aback, 
but ran before the wind with square yards. The captain 
coming on deck, we braced up a httle and stood back for 
our anchorage. With the change of wind came a change 
of weather, and in two hours the wind moderated into the 
light steady breeze, which blows down the coast the greater 
part of the year, and, from its regularity, might be called 
a trade-wind. The sun came up bright, and we set royals, 
skysails, and studding-sails, and were under fair way for 
Santa Barbara. The Httle Loriotte was astern of us, nearly 
out of sight ; but we saw nothing of the Ayacucho. In a 
short time she appeared, standing out from Santa Rosa 
Island, under the lee of which she had been hove to, all 
night. Our captain was anxious to get in before her, for 
it would be a great credit to us, on the coast, to beat the 
Ayacucho, which had been called the best sailer in the North 



TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 71 

Pacific, in which she had been known as a trader for six 
years or more. We had an advantage over her in Hght 
winds, from our royals and skysails which we carried both 
at the fore and main, and also in our studding-sails; for 
Captain Wilson carried nothing above top-gallant-sails, 
and always unbent his studding-sails when on the coast. 
As the wind was light and fair, we held our own, for some 
time, when we were both obhged to brace up and come upon 
a taught bowline, after rounding the point; and here he 
had us on fair ground, and walked away from us, as you 
would haul in a Hne. He afterwards said that we sailed 
well enough with the wind free, but that give him a. taught 
bowline, and he would beat us, if we had all the canvas 
of the Royal George. 

The Ayacucho got to the anchoring ground about half an 
hour before us, and was furhng her sails when we came up 
to it. This picking up your cables is a very nice piece of 
work. It requires some seamanship to do it, and come to 
at your former moorings, without letting go another anchor. 
Captain Wilson was remarkable, among the sailors on the 
coast, for his skill in doing this ; and our captain never let 
go a second anchor during all the time that I was with him. 
Coming a little to windward of our buoy, we clewed up the 
light sails, backed our main topsail, and lowered a boat, 
which pulled off, and made fast a spare hawser to the buoy 
on the end of the slip-rope. We brought the other end to 
the capstan, and hove in upon it until we came to the slip- 
rope, which we took to the windlass, and walked her up to 
her chain, the captain helping her by backing and filling the 
sails. The chain is then passed through the hawse-hole 
and round the windlass, and bitted, the slip-rope taken 
round outside and brought into the stern port, and she is 
safe in her old berth. After we had got through, the mate 
told us that this was a small touch of California, the like 
of which we must expect to have through the winter. 

After we had furled the sails and got dinner, we saw the 
LorioUe nearing, and she had her anchor before night. At 



72 TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 

sundown we went ashore again, and found the Loriotte's 
boat waiting on the beach. The Sandwich Islander who 
could speak English, told us that he had been up to the 
town; that our agent, Mr. R , and some other pas- 
sengers, were going to Monterey with us, and that we were 

to sail the same night. In a few minutes Captain T , 

with two gentlemen and one female, came down, and we got 
ready to go off. They had a good deal of baggage, which we 
put into the bows of the boat, and then two of us took the 
sefiora in our arms, and waded with her through the water, 
and put her down safely in the stern. She appeared much 
amused with the transaction, and her husband was perfectly 
satisfied, thinking any arrangement good which saved his 
wetting his feet. I pulled the after oar, so that I heard 
the conversation, and learned that one of the men, who, as 
well as I could see in the darkness, was a young-looking 
man, in the European dress, and covered up in a large 
cloak, was the agent of the firm to which our vessel be- 
longed; and the other, who was dressed in the Spanish 
dress of the country, was a brother of our captain, who had 
been many years a trader on the coast, and had married 
the lady who was in the boat. She was a delicate, dark- 
complexioned young woman, and of one of the best families 
in California. I also found that we were to sail the same 
night. As soon as we got on board, the boats were hoisted 
up, the sails loosed, the windlass manned, the slip-ropes 
and gear cast off ; and after about twenty minutes of heav- 
ing at the windlass, making sail, and bracing yards, we were 
well under weigh, and going with a fair wind up the coast 
to Monterey. The LorioUe got under weigh at the same 
time, and was also bound up to Monterey, but as she took 
a different course from us, keeping the land aboard, while 
we kept well out to sea, we soon lost sight of her. We had 
a fair wind, which is something unusual when going up, 
as the prevailing wind is the north, which blows directly 
down the coast ; whence the northern are called the wind- 
ward, and the southern the leeward ports. 



CHAPTER XI , 

We got clear of the islands before sunrise the next morn- 
ing, and by twelve o'clock were out of the canal, and off 
Point Conception, the place where we first made the land 
upon our arrival. This is the largest point on the coast, and 
is an uninhabited headland, stretching out into the Pacific, 
and has the reputation of being very windy. Any vessel 
does well which gets by it without a gale, especially in the 
winter season. We were going along with studding-sails 
set on both sides, when, as we came round the point, we 
had to haul our wind, and took in the lee studding-sails. 
As the brig came more upon the wind, she felt it more, and 
we doused the skysails, but kept the weather studding- 
sails on her, bracing the yards forward so that the swinging- 
boom nearly touched the sprit-sail yard. She now lay over 
to it, the wind was freshening, and the captain was evi- 
dently "dragging on to her." His brother and Mr. R , 

looking a little squally, said something to him, but he only 
answered that he knew the vessel and what she would 
carry. He was evidently showing off his vessel, and letting 
them know how he could carry sail. He stood up to wind- 
ward, holding on by the backstays, and looking up at the 
sticks, to see how much they would bear; when a puff 
came which settled the matter. Then it was "haul down," 
and "clew up," royals, flying-jib, and studding-sails, all at 
once. There was what the sailors call a "mess" — every- 
thing let go, nothing hauled in, and everything flying. 
The poor Spanish woman came to the companion-way, 
looking as pale as a ghost, and nearly frightened to death. 
The mate and some men forward were trying to haul in the 
lower studding-sail, which had blown over the sprit-sail 
yard-arm and round the guys while the topmast-studding- 

73 



74 TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 

sail boom, after buckling up and springing out again like a 
piece of whalebone, broke off at the boom-iron. I sprang 
aloft to take in the main top-gallant studding-sail, but before 
I got into the top, the tack parted, and away went the sail, 
swinging forward of the top-gallant-sail, and tearing and 
slatting itself to pieces. The halyards were at this moment 
let go by the run ; and such a piece of work I never had 
before, in taking in a sail. After great exertions I got it, 
or the remains of it, into the top, and was making it fast, 
when the captain, looking up, called out to me, "Lay 

aloft there, D , and furl that main royal." Leaving 

the studding-sail, I went up to the cross-trees ; and here it 
looked rather squally. The foot of the top-gallant-mast 
was working between the cross and trussel trees, and the 
royal-mast lay over at a fearful angle with the mast be- 
low, while everything was working, and cracking, strained 
to the utmost. 

There's nothing for Jack to do but to obey orders, and I 
went up upon the yard; and there was a worse "mess," if 
possible, than I had left below. The braces had been let 
go, and the yard was swinging about Hke a turnpike-gate, 
and the whole sail having blown over to leeward, the lee 
leach was over the yard-arm, and the sky sail was all adrift 
and flying over my head. I looked down, but it was in 
vain to attempt to make myself heard, for every one was 
busy below, and the wind roared, and sails were flapping in 
every direction. Fortunately, it was noon and broad day- 
light, and the man at the wheel, who had his eyes aloft, soon 
saw my difificulty, and after numberless signs and gestures, 
got some one to haul the necessary ropes taught. During 
this interval I took a look below. Everything was in con- 
fusion on deck; the little vessel was tearing through the 
water as if she were mad, the seas flying over her, and the 
masts leaning over at an angle of forty-five degrees from the 
vertical. At the other royal-mast-head was S , work- 
ing away at the sail, which was blowing from him as fast 
as he could gather it in. The top-gallant-sail below me 



TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 75 

was soon clewed up, which relieved the mast, and in a short 
time I got my sail furled, and went below ; but I lost over- 
board a new tarpaulin hat, which troubled me more than 
anything else. We worked for about half an hour with 
might and main ; and in an hour from the time the squall 
struck us, from having all our flying kites abroad, we came 
down to double-reefed topsails and the storm-sails. 

The wind had hauled ahead during the squall, and we 
were standing directly in for the point. So, as soon as we 
had got all snug, we wore round and stood off again, and 
had the pleasant prospect of beating up to Monterey, a 
distance of an hundred miles, against a violent head wind. 
Before night it began to rain; and we had five days of 
rainy, stormy weather, under close sail all the time, and were 
blown several hundred miles off the coast. In the midst 
of this, we discovered that our fore topmast [was sprung 
(which no doubt happened in the squall), and were obliged 
to send down the fore top-gallant-mast and carry as little 
sail as possible forward. Our four passengers were dread- 
fully sick, so that we saw little or nothing of them during the 
five days. On the sixth day it cleared o£f, and the sun came 
out bright, but the wind and sea were still very high. It 
was quite like being at sea again : no land for hundreds of 
miles, and the captain taking the sun every day at noon. 
Our passengers now made their appearance, and I had for 
the first time the opportunity of seeing what a miserable and 
forlorn creature a sea-sick passenger is. Since I had got 
over my own sickness, the first two days from Boston, I 
had seen nothing but hale, hearty men, with their sea legs 
on, and able to go anywhere (for we had no passengers) ; 
and I will own there was a pleasant feeling of superiority 
in being able to walk the deck, and eat, and go about, and 
comparing one's self with two poor, miserable, pale crea- 
tures, staggering and shuffling about decks, or holding on 
and looking up with giddy heads, to see us climbing to the 
mast-heads, or sitting quietly at work on the ends of the 
lofty yards. A well man at sea has little sympathy with 



76 TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 

one who is sea-sick ; he is too apt to be conscious of a com- 
parison favorable to his own manhood. 

After a few days we made the land at Point Pinos (pines), 
which is the headland at the entrance of the bay of Mon- 
terey. As we drew in, and ran down the shore, we could 
distinguish well the face of the country, and found it better 
wooded than that to the southward of Point Conception. 
In fact, as I afterwards discovered, Point Conception may 
be made the dividing line between two different faces of the 
country. As you go to the northward of the point, the 
country becomes more wooded, has a richer appearance, 
and is better supplied with water. This is the case with 
Monterey, and still more so with San Francisco ; while to 
the southward of the point, as at Santa Barbara, San Pedro, 
and particularly San Diego, there is very little wood, and 
the country has a naked, level appearance, though it is still 
very fertile. 

The bay of Monterey is very wide at the entrance, being 
about twenty-four miles between the two points. Alio 
Nuevo at the north, and Pinos at the south, but narrows 
gradually as you approach the town, which is situated in a 
bend, or large cove, at the south-eastern extremity, and 
about eighteen miles from the points, which makes the whole 
depth of the bay. The shores are extremely well wooded 
(the pine abounding upon them), and as it was now the 
rainy season, everything was as green as nature could 
make it, — the grass, the leaves, and all ; the birds were 
singing in the woods, and great numbers of wild fowl were 
flying over our heads. Here we could lie safe from the 
south-easters. We came to anchor within two cable lengths 
of the shore, and the town lay directly before us, making a 
very pretty appearance ; its houses being plastered, which 
gives a much better effect than those of Santa Barbara, 
which are of a mud-color. The red tiles, too, on the roofs, 
contrasted well with the white plastered sides, and with the 
extreme greenness of the lawn upon which the houses — 
about an hundred in number — were dotted about, here 



TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 77 

and there, irregularly. There are in this place, and in 
every other town which I saw in California, no streets, or 
fences (except here and there a small patch was fenced in 
for a garden), so that the houses are placed at random 
upon the green, which, as they are of one story and of the 
cottage form, gives them a pretty effect when seen from a 
little distance. 

It was a fine Saturday afternoon when we came to 
anchor, the sun about an hour high, and everything looking 
pleasantly. The Mexican flag was flying from the little 
square Presidio, and the drums and trumpets of the soldiers, 
who were out on parade, sounded over the water, and gave 
great life to the scene. Every one was delighted with the 
appearance of things. We felt as though we had got into a 
Christian (which in the sailor's vocabulary means civilized) 
country. The first impression which California had made 
upon us was very disagreeable : — the open roadstead of 
Santa Barbara ; anchoring three miles from the shore ; run- 
ning out to sea before every south-easter; landing in a 
high serf; with a little dark-looking town, a mile from the 
beach ; and not a sound to be heard, or anything to be seen, 
but Sandwich Islanders, hides, and tallow-bags. Add to 
this the gale off Point Conception, and no one can be at a 
loss to account for our agreeable disappointment in Mon- 
terey. Beside all this, we soon learned, which was of no 
small importance to us, that there was little or no surf here, 
and this afternoon the beach was as smooth as a duck-pond. 

We landed the agent and passengers, and found several 
persons waiting for them on the beach, among whom were 
some, who, though dressed in the costume of the country, 
spoke English; and who, we afterwards learned, were 
English and Americans who had married and settled in the 
country. 

I also connected with our arrival here another circum- 
stance which more nearly concerns myself; viz., my first 
act of what the sailors will allow to be seamanship — send- 
ing down a royal-yard. I had seen it done once or twice at 



78 TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 

sea, and an old sailor, whose favor I had taken some pains 
to gain, had taught me carefully everything which was 
necessary to be done, and in its proper order, and advised 
me to take the first opportunity when we were in port, and 
try it. I told the second mate, with whom I had been 
pretty thick when he was before the mast, that I would do 
it, and got him to ask the mate to send me up the first time 
they were struck. Accordingly I was called upon, and 
went up, repeating the operations over in my mind, tak- 
ing care to get everything in its order, for the slightest mis- 
take spoils the whole. Fortunately, I got through without 
any word from the officer, and heard the "well done" of 
the mate, when the yard reached the deck, with as much 
satisfaction as I ever felt at Cambridge on seeing a ''bene" 
at the foot of a Latin exercise. 



CHAPTER XII , 

The next day being Sunday, which is the Hberty-day 
among merchantmen, when it is usual to let a part of the 
crew go ashore, the sailors had depended upon a day on land, 
and were already disputing who should ask to go, when, 
upon being called in the morning, we were turned-to upon 
the rigging, and found that the topmast, which had been 
sprung, was to come down, and a new one to go up, and top- 
gallant and royal-masts, and the rigging to be set up. This 
was too bad. If there is anything that irritates sailors and 
makes them feel hardly used, it is being deprived of their 
Sabbath. Not that they would always, or indeed gener- 
ally, spend it religiously, but it is their only day of rest. 
Then, too, they are so often necessarily deprived of it by 
storms, and unavoidable duties of all kinds, that to take it 
from them when lying quietly and safely in port, without 
any urgent reason, bears the more hardly. The only reason 
in this case was, that the captain had determined to have 
the custom-house officers on board on Monday, and wished 
to have his brig in order. Jack is a slave aboard ship; 
but still he has many opportunities of thwarting and balk- 
ing his master. When there is danger, or necessity, or 
when he is well used, no one can work faster than he ; but 
the instant he feels that he is kept at work for nothjing, no 
sloth could make less headway. He must not refuse his 
duty, or be in any way disobedient, but all the work that 
an officer gets out of him, he may be welcome to. Every 
man who has been three months at sea knows how to "work 
Tom Cox's traverse" — "three turns round the long-boat, 
and a pull at the scuttled-butt." This morning everything 
went in this way. "Sogering" was the order of the day. 
Send a man below to get a block, and he would capsize 

79 



8o TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 

everything before finding it, then not bring it up till an 
officer had called him twice, and take as much time to 
put things in order again. Marline-spikes were not to be 
found ; knives wanted a prodigious deal of sharpening, 
and, generally, three or four were waiting round the grind- 
stone at a time. When a man got to the mast-head, he 
would come slowly down again to get something which he 
had forgotten ; and after the tackles were got up, six men 
would pull less than one who pulled ''with a will." When 
the mate was out of sight, nothing was done. It was all 
up-hill work ; and at eight o'clock, when we went to break- 
fast, things were nearly where they were when we began. 

During our short meal, the matter was discussed. One 
proposed refusing to work; but that was mutiny, and of 
course was rejected at once. I remember, too, that one of 
the men quoted "Father Taylor " (as they call the seamen's 
preacher at Boston), who told them that if they were ordered 
to work on Sunday, they must not refuse their duty, and 
the blame would not come upon them. After breakfast, 
it leaked out, through the officers, that if we would get 
through work soon, we might have a boat in the afternoon 
and go a fishing. This bait was well thrown, and took with 
several who were fond of fishing; and all began to find 
that as we had one thing to do, and were not to be kept at 
work for the day, the sooner we did it, the better. Accord- 
ingly, things took a new aspect; and before two o'clock, 
this work, which was in a fair way to last two days, was 
done ; and five of us went a fishing in the jolly-boat, in the 
direction of Point Pinos ; but leave to go ashore was refused. 
Here we saw the LorioUe, which sailed with us from Santa 
Barbara, coming slowly in with a light sea-breeze, which 
sets in towards afternoon, having been becalmed off the 
point all the first part of the day. We took several fish of 
various kinds, among which cod and perch abounded, and 

F (the ci-devant second mate) , who was of our number, 

brought up with his hook a large and beautiful pearl-oyster 
shell. We afterwards learned that this place was cele- 



TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 8i 

brated for shells, and that a small schooner had made a 
good voyage, by carrying a cargo of them to the United 
States. 

We returned by sun-down, and found the LorioUe at 
anchor, within a cable's length of the Pilgrim. The next 
day we were "turned- to" early, and began taking off the 
hatches, overhauling the cargo, and getting everything 
ready for inspection. At eight, the officers of the customs, 
five in number, came on board, and began overhauling the 
cargo, manifest, etc. The Mexican revenue laws are very 
strict, and require the whole cargo to be landed, examined, 

and taken on board again ; but our agent, Mr. R , had 

succeeded in compounding with them for the two last ves- 
sels, and saving the trouble of taking the cargo ashore. 
The officers were dressed in the costume which we found 
prevailed through the country. A broad-brimmed hat, 
usually of a black or dark-brown color, with a gilt or figured 
band round the crown, and lined inside with silk ; a short 
jacket of silk or figured calico (the European skirted body- 
coat is never worn) ; the shirt open in the neck ; rich waist- 
coat, if any; pantaloons wide, straight, and long, usually 
of velvet, velveteen, or broadcloth; or else short breeches 
and white stockings. They wear the deer-skin shoe, which 
is of a dark-brown color, and (being made by Indians), 
usually a good deal ornamented. They have no suspenders, 
but always wear a sash round the waist, which is generally 
red, and varying in quality with the means of the wearer. 
Add to this the never-failing cloak, and you have the dress 
of the CaHfornian. This last garment, the cloak, is always 
a mark of the rank and wealth of the owner. The "gente de 
razon," or aristocracy, wear cloaks of black or dark blue 
broadcloth, with as much velvet and trimmings as may be ; 
and from this they go down to the blanket of the Indian ; 
the middle classes wearing something like a large table- 
cloth, with a hole in the middle for the head to go through. 
This is often as coarse as a blanket, but being beautifully 
woven with various colors, is quite showy at a distance. 



82 TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 

Among the Spaniards there is no working class (the Indians 
being slaves and doing all the hard work) ; and every rich 
man looks like a grandee, and every poor scamp like a 
broken-down gentleman. I have often seen a man with a 
fine figure, and courteous manners, dressed in broadcloth 
and velvet, with a noble horse completely covered with 
trappings; without a real in his pockets, and absolutely 
suffering for something to eat. 



CHAPTER XIII 

The next day, the cargo having been entered in due 
form, we began trading. The trade-room was fitted up in 
the steerage, and furnished out with the lighter goods, and 

with specimens of the rest of the cargo; and M , a 

young man who came out from Boston with us, before the 
mast, was taken out of the forecastle, and made supercargo's 
clerk. He was well qualified for the business, having been 
clerk in a counting-house in Boston. He had been troubled 
for some time with the rheumatism, which unfitted him for 
the wet and exposed duty of a sailor on the coast. For 
a week or ten days all was life on board. The people came 
off to look and to buy — men, women, and children ; and 
we were continually going in the boats, carrying goods and 
passengers, — for they have no boats of their own. Every- 
thing must dress itself and come aboard and see the new 
vessel, if it were only to buy a paper of pins. The agent 
and his clerk managed the sales, while we were busy in the 
hold or in the boats. Our cargo was an assorted one ; that 
is, it consisted of everything under the sun. We had spirits 
of all kinds (sold by the cask), teas, coffee, sugars, spices, 
raisins, molasses, hard-ware, crockery-ware, tin-ware, cut- 
lery, clothing of all kinds, boots and shoes from Lynn, cali- 
coes and cottons from Lowell, crapes, silks; also, shawls, 
scarfs, necklaces, jewelry, and combs for the ladies ; furni- 
ture; and in fact, everything that can be imagined, from 
Chinese fire-works to English cart-wheels — of which we 
had a dozen pairs with their iron rims on. 

The Californians are an idle, thriftless people, and can 
make nothing for themselves. The country abounds in 
grapes, yet they buy bad wine made in Boston and brought 
round by us, at an immense price, and retail it among 

83 



84 TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 

themselves at a real (12^ cents) by the small wine-glass. 
Their hides too, which they value at two dollars in money, 
they give for something which costs seventy-five cents 
in Boston; and buy shoes (as like as not, made of their 
own hides, which have been carried twice round Cape Horn) 
at three and four dollars, and "chicken-skin" boots at 
fifteen dollars apiece. Things sell, on an average, at an 
advance of nearly three hundred per cent, upon the Boston 
prices. This is partly owing to the heavy duties which the 
government, in their wisdom, with the intent, no doubt, 
of keeping the silver in the country, has laid upon imports. 
These duties, and the enormous expenses of so long a voyage, 
keep all merchants, but those of heavy capital, from engag- 
ing in the trade. Nearly two-thirds of all the articles im- 
ported into the country from round Cape Horn, for the last 
six years, have been by the single house of Bryant, Sturgis 
& Co., to whom our vessel belonged and who have a perma- 
nent agent on the coast. 

This kind of business was new to us, and we liked it very 
well for a few days, though we were hard at work every 
minute from daylight to dark; and sometimes even later. 

By being thus continually engaged in transporting pas- 
sengers with their goods, to and fro, we gained considerable 
knowledge of the character, dress, and language of the 
people. The dress of the men was as I have before de- 
scribed it. The women wore gowns of various texture — 
silks, crape, calicoes, etc. — made after the European style, 
except that the sleeves were short, leaving the arm bare, 
and that they were loose about the waist, having no corsets. 
They wore shoes of kid, or satin; sashes or belts of 
bright colors ; and almost always a necklace and ear-rings. 
Bonnets they had none. I only saw one on the coast, and 
that belonged to the wife of an American sea-captain who 
had settled in San Diego and had imported the chaotic mass 
of straw and ribbon, as a choice present to his new wife. 
They wear their hair (which is almost invariably black, 
or a very dark brown) long in their necks, sometimes loose, 



TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 85 

and sometimes in long braids ; though the married women 
often do it up on a high comb. Their only protection 
against the sun and weather is a large mantle which they 
put over their heads, drawing it close round their faces, 
when they go out-of-doors, which is generally only in 
pleasant weather. When in the house, or sitting out in front 
of it, which they often do in fine weather, they usually 
wear a small scarf or neckerchief of a rich pattern. A band, 
also, about the top of the head, with a cross, star, or other 
ornament in front, is common. Their complexions are 
various, depending — as well as their dress and manner — 
upon their rank; or, in other words, upon the amount of 
Spanish blood they can lay claim to. Those who are of 
pure Spanish blood, having never intermarried with the 
aborigines, have clear brunette complexions, and some- 
times, even as fair as those of English women. There are 
but few of these families in California ; being mostly 
those in official stations, or who, on the expiration of their 
offices, have settled here upon property which they have 
acquired; and others who have been banished for state 
offences. These form the aristocracy; intermarrying, 
and keeping up an exclusive system in every respect. They 
can be told by their complexions, dress, manner, and also 
by their speech; for, calling themselves Castilians, they 
are very ambitious of speaking the pure Castilian language, 
which is spoken in a somewhat corrupted dialect by 
the lower classes. From this upper class, they go down by 
regular shades, growing more and more dark and muddy, 
until you come to the pure Indian, who runs about with 
nothing upon him but a small piece of cloth, kept up by a 
wide leather strap drawn round his waist. Generally speak- 
ing, each person's caste is decided by the quality of the 
blood, which shows itself, too plainly to be concealed, at 
first sight. Yet the least drop of Spanish blood, if it be 
only of quadroon or octoroon, is sufficient to raise them from 
the rank of slaves, and entitle them to a suit of clothes — 
boots, hat, cloak, spurs, long knife, and all complete, though 



86 TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 

coarse and dirty as may be, — and to call themselves 
Espanolos, and to hold property, if they can get any. 

The fondness for dress among the women is excessive, 
and is often the ruin of many of them. A present of a fine 
mantle, or of a necklace or pair of ear-rings, gains the favor 
of the greater part of them. Nothing is more common than 
to see a woman living in a house of only two rooms, and the 
ground for a floor, dressed in spangled satin shoes, silk 
gown, high comb, and gilt, if not gold ear-rings and necklace. 
They used to spend whole days on board our vessel, examin- 
ing the fine clothes and ornaments, and frequently made 
purchases at a rate which would have made a sempstress 
or waiting-maid in Boston open her eyes. 

Next to the love of dress, I was most struck with the fine- 
ness of the voices and beauty of the intonations of both 
sexes. Every common ruffian-looking fellow, with a 
slouched hat, blanket cloak, dirty under-dress, and soiled 
leather leggins, appeared to me to be speaking elegant 
Spanish. It was a pleasure simply to listen to the sound 
of the language, before I could attach any meaning to it. 
They have a good deal of the Creole drawl, but it is varied 
with an occasional extreme rapidity of utterance, in which 
they seem to skip from consonant to consonant, until, 
lighting upon a broad, open vowel, they rest upon that to 
restore the balance of sound. The women carry this 
pecuHarity of speaking to a much greater extreme than the 
men, who have more evenness and stateliness of utterance. 
A common bullock-driver, on horseback, delivering a mes- 
sage, seemed to speak like an ambassador at an audience. 
In fact, they sometimes appeared to me to be a people on 
whom a curse had fallen, and stripped them of everything 
but their pride, their manners, and their voices. 

Another thing that surprised me was the quantity of 
silver that was in circulation. I certainly never saw so 
much silver at one time in my life, as during the week 
that we were at Monterey. The truth is, they have no 
credit system, no banks, and no way of investing money 



TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 87 

but in cattle. They have no circulating medium but silver 
and hides — which the sailors call "Cahfornia bank notes." 
Everything that they buy they must pay for in one or the 
other of these things. The hides they bring down dried 
and doubled, in clumsy ox-carts, or upon mules' backs, and 
the money they carry tied up in a handkerchief ; — fifty, 
eighty, or an hundred dollars and half dollars. 

I had never studied Spanish while at college, and could 
not speak a word, when at Juan Fernandez ; but during the 
latter part of the passage out, I borrowed a grammar and 
dictionary from the cabin, and by a continual use of these, 
and a careful attention to every word that I heard spoken, I 
soon got a vocabulary together, and began talking for 
myself. As I soon knew more Spanish then any of the crew 
(who indeed knew none at all), and had been at college and 
knew Latin, I got the name of a great linguist, and was 
always sent by the captain and officers to get provisions, or 
to carry letters and messages to different parts of the town. 
I was often sent to get something which I could not tell the 
name of to save my life; but I liked the business, and 
accordingly never pleaded ignorance. Sometimes I man- 
aged to jump below and take a look at my dictionary before 
going ashore; or else I overhauled some English resident 
on my way, and got the word from him ; and then, by signs, 
and the help of my Latin and French, contrived to get 
along. This was a good exercise for me, and no doubt 
taught me more than I should have learned by months of 
study and reading ; it also gave me opportunities of seeing 
the customs, characters, and domestic arrangements of the 
people; beside being a great relief from the monotony of 
a day spent on board ship. 

Monterey, as far as my observation goes, is decidedly the 
pleasantest and most civilized-looking place in California. 
In the centre of it is an open square, surrounded by four 
lines of one-story plastered buildings, with half a dozen 
cannon in the centre ; some mounted, and others not. This 
is the "Presidio," or fort. Every town has a presidio in its 



88 TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 

centre; or rather, every presidio has a town built around 
it ; for the forts were first built by the Mexican government, 
and then the people built near them for protection. The 
presidio here was entirely open and unfortified. There were 
several officers with long titles, and about eighty soldiers, 
but they were poorly paid, fed, clothed, and disciplined. 
The governor-general, or, as he is commonly called, the 
"general," lives here; which makes it the seat of govern- 
ment. He is appointed by the central government at 
Mexico, and is the chief civil and military officer. In 
addition to him, each town has a commandant, who is the 
chief military officer, and has charge of the fort, and of all 
transactions with foreigners and foreign vessels; and two 
or three alcaldis and corregidores, elected by the inhabit- 
ants, who are the civil officers. Courts and jurisprudence 
they have no knowledge of. Small municipal matters 
are regulated by the alcaldis and corregidores ; and every- 
thing relating to the general government, to the military, 
and to foreigners, by the commandants, acting under the 
governor-general. Capital cases are decided by him, upon 
personal inspection, if he is near ; or upon minutes sent by 
the proper officers, if the offender is at a distant place. No 
Protestant has any civil rights, nor can he hold any property, 
or, indeed, remain more than a few weeks on shore, unless 
he belong to some vessel. Consequently, the Americans 
and English who intend to reside here become Catholics, to 
a man ; the current phrase among them being, — "A man 
must leave his conscience at Cape Horn." 

But to return to Monterey. The houses here, as every- 
where else in Cahfornia, are of one story, built of clay made 
into large bricks, about a foot and a half square and three 
or four inches thick, and hardened in the sun. These are 
cemented together by mortar of the same material, and the 
whole are of a common dirt-color. The floors are generally 
of earth, the windows grated and without glass; and the 
doors, which are seldom shut, open directly into the com- 
mon room; there being no entries. Some of the more 



TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 89 

wealthy inhabitants have glass to their windows and board 
floors ; and in Monterey nearly all the houses are plastered 
on the outside. The better houses, too, have red tiles upon 
the roofs. The common ones have two or three rooms 
which open into each other, and are furnished with a bed or 
two, a few chairs and tables, a looking-glass, a crucifix of 
some material or other, and small daubs of paintings en- 
closed in glass, and representing some miracle or martyr- 
dom. They have no chimneys or fire-places in the houses, 
the climate being such as to make a fire unnecessary ; and 
all their cooking is done in a small cook-house, separated 
from the house. The Indians, as I have said before, do all 
the hard work, two or three being attached to each house ; 
and the poorest persons are able to keep one, at least, for 
they have only to feed them and give them a small piece of 
coarse cloth and a belt, for the males ; and a coarse gown, 
without shoes or stockings, for the females. 

In Monterey there are a number of English and Americans 
(English or ''Ingles" all are called who speak the English 
language) who have married Californians, become united 
to the Catholic church, and acquired considerable property. 
Having more industry, frugality, and enterprise than the 
natives, they soon get nearly all the trade into their hands. 
They usually keep shops, in which they retail the goods 
purchased in larger quantities from our vessels, and also 
send a good deal into the interior, taking hides in pay, 
which they again barter with our vessels. In every town 
on the coast there are foreigners engaged in this kind of 
trade, while I recollect but two shops kept by natives. The 
people are naturally suspicious of foreigners, and they would 
not be allowed to remain, were it not that they become 
good Catholics, and by marrying natives, and bringing 
up their children as Catholics and Spaniards, and not teach- 
ing them the English language, they quiet suspicion, and 
even become popular and leading men. The chief alcaldis 
in Monterey and Santa Barbara were both Yankees by 
birth. 



90 TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 

The men in Monterey appeared to me to be always on 
horseback. Horses are as abundant here as dogs and 
chickens were in Juan Fernandez. There are no stables 
to keep them in, but they are allowed to run wild and graze 
wherever they please, being branded, and having long 
leather ropes, called ''lassos," attached to their necks and 
dragging along behind them, by which they can be easily 
taken. The men usually catch one in the morning, throw 
a saddle and bridle upon him, and use him for the day, and 
let him go at night, catching another the next day. When 
they go on long journeys, they ride one horse down, and 
catch another, throw the saddle and bridle upon him, and 
after riding him down, take a third, and so on to the end of 
the journey. There are probably no better riders in the 
world. They get upon a horse when only four or five years 
old, their little legs not long enough to come halfway over 
his sides ; and may almost be said to keep on him until they 
have grown to him. The stirrups are covered or boxed up 
in front, to prevent their catching when riding through the 
woods ; and the saddles are large and heavy, strapped very 
tight upon the horse, and have large pommels, or logger- 
heads, in front, round which the ''lasso" is coiled when not 
in use. They can hardly go from one house to another 
without getting on a horse, there being generally several 
standing tied to the door-posts of the little cottages. When 
they wish to show their activity, they make no use of their 
stirrups in mounting, but striking the horse, spring into the 
saddle as he starts, and sticking their long spurs into him, 
go off on the full run. Their spurs are cruel things, having 
four or five rowels, each an inch in length, dull and rusty. 
The flanks of the horses are often sore from them, and I 
have seen men come in from chasing bullock with their 
horses' hind legs and quarters covered with blood. They 
frequently give exhibitions of their horsemanship, in races, 
bull-baitings, etc. ; but as we were not ashore during any 
holyday, we saw nothing of it. Monterey is also a great 
place for cock-fighting, gambling of all sorts, fandangos^ 



TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 91 

and every kind of amusement and knavery. Trappers 
and hunters, who occasionally arrive here from over the 
Rocky Mountains, with their valuable skins and furs, are 
often entertained with every sort of amusement and dissi- 
pation, until they have wasted their time and their money, 
and go back, stripped of everything. 

Nothing but the character of the people prevents Mon- 
terey from becoming a great town. The soil is as rich as 
man could wish ; climate as good as any in the world ; water 
abundant, and situation extremely beautiful. The harbor, 
too, is a good one, being subject only to one bad wind, the 
north ; and though the holding-ground is not the best, yet 
I heard of but one vessel's being driven ashore here. That 
was a Mexican brig, which went ashore a few months before 
our arrival, and was a total wreck, all the crew but one 
being drowned. Yet this was from the carelessness or 
ignorance of the captain, who paid out all his small cable 
before he let go his other anchor. The ship Lagoda, of 
Boston, was there at the time, and rode out the gale in 
safety, without dragging at all, or finding it necessary to 
strike her top-gallant-masts. 

The only vessel in port with us was the little LorioUe. 
I frequently went on board her, and became very well ac- 
quainted with her Sandwich Island crew. One of them 
could speak a little English, and from him I learned a good 
deal about them. They were well formed and active, with 
black eyes, intelligent countenances, dark-olive, or, I should 
rather say, copper complexions, and coarse black hair, 
but not woolly like the negroes. They appeared to be 
talking continually. In the forecastle there was a complete 
Babel. Their language is extremely guttural, and not 
pleasant at first, but improves as you hear it more, and is 
said to have great capacity. They use a good deal of ges- 
ticulation, and are exceedingly animated, saying with their 
might what their tongues find to say. They are complete 
water-dogs, and therefore very good in boating. It is for 
this reason that there are so many of them on the coast of 



92 TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 

California ; they being very good hands in the surf. They 
are also quick and active in the rigging, and good hands in 
warm weather ; but those who have been with them round 
Cape Horn, and in high latitudes, say that they are useless 
in cold weather. In their dress they are precisely like our 
sailors. In addition to these Islanders, the vessel had 
two EngHsh sailors, who acted as boatswains over the Island- 
ers, and took care of the rigging. One of them I shall always 
remember as the best specimen of the thoroughbred English 
sailor that I ever saw. He had been to sea from a boy, 
having served a regular apprenticeship of seven years, as all 
English sailors are obliged to do, and was then about four 
or five and twenty. He was tall ; but you only perceived 
it when he was standing by the side of others, for the great 
breadth of his shoulders and chest made him appear but 
little above the middle height. His chest was as deep as 
it was wide ; his arm like that of Hercules ; and his hand 
"the fist of a tar — every hair a rope-yarn." With all 
this he had one of the pleasantest smiles I ever saw. His 
cheeks were of a handsome brown ; his teeth brilliantly 
white ; and his hair, of a raven black, waved in loose curls 
all over his head, and fine, open forehead ; and his eyes he 
might have sold to a duchess at the price of diamonds, for 
their brilliancy. As for their color, they were like the 
Irishman's pig, which would not stay to be counted ; every 
change of position and light seemed to give them a new hue ; 
but their prevailing color was black, or nearly so. Take 
him with his well-varnished black tarpaulin stuck upon the 
back of his head ; his long locks coming down almost into 
his eyes ; his white duck trowsers and shirt ; blue jacket ; 
and black kerchief, tied loosely round his neck ; and he was 
a fine specimen of manly beauty. On his broad chest he 
had stamped with India ink "Parting moments" ; — a ship 
ready to sail ; a boat on the beach ; and a girl and her sailor 
lover taking their farewell. Underneath were printed the 
initials of his own name, and two other letters, standing 
for some name which he knew better than I did. This was 



TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 93 

very well done, having been executed by a man who made 
it his business to print with India ink, for sailors, at Havre. 
On one of his broad arms he had the crucifixion, and on the 
other the sign of the "foul anchor." 

He was very fond of reading, and we lent him most of 
the books which we had in the forecastle, which he read 
and returned to us the next time we fell in with him. He 
had a good deal of information, and his captain said he was 
a perfect seaman, and worth his weight in gold on board a 
vessel, in fair weather and in foul. His strength must have 
been immense, and he had the sight of a vulture. It is 
strange that one should be so minute in the description of 
an unknown, outcast sailor, whom one may never see again, 
and whom no one may care to hear about; but so it is. 
Some people we see under no remarkable circumstances, 
but whom, for some reason or other, we never forget. He 
called himself Bill Jackson ; and I know no one of all my 
accidental acquaintances to whom I would more gladly give 
a shake of the hand than to him. Whoever falls in with him 
will find a handsome, hearty fellow, and a good shipmate. 

Sunday came again while we were at Monterey, but, as 
before, it brought us no holyday. The people on shore 
dressed themselves and came off in greater numbers than 
ever, and we were employed all day in boating and breaking 
out cargo, so that we had hardly time to eat. Our ci-devant 
second mate, who was determined to get liberty if it was 
to be had, dressed himself in a long coat and black hat, and 
polished his shoes, and went aft and asked to go ashore. 
He could not have done a more imprudent thing; for he 
knew that no liberty would be given ; and besides, sailors, 
however sure they may be of having liberty granted them, 
always go aft in their working clothes, to appear as though 
they had no reason to expect anything, and then wash, 
dress, and shave, after they have got their liberty. But 
this poor fellow was always getting into hot water, and if 
there was a wrong way of doing a thing, was sure to hit 
upon it. We looked to see him go aft, knowing pretty well 



94 TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 

what his reception would be. The captain was walking the 

quarter-deck, smoking his morning cigar, and F went 

as far as the break of the deck, and there waited for him to 
notice him. The captain took two or three turns, and then 
walking directly up to him, surveyed him from head to foot, 
and lifting up his forefinger, said a word or two, in a tone 
too low for us to hear, but which had a magical effect upon 

poor F . He walked forward, sprang into the forecastle, 

and in a moment more made his appearance in his common 
clothes, and went quietly to work again. What the captain 
said to him, we never could get him to tell, but it certainly 
changed him outwardly and inwardly in a most surprising 
manner. 



CHAPTER XIV 

After a few days, finding the trade beginning to slacken, 
we hove our anchor up, set our topsails, ran the stars and 
stripes up to the peak, fired a gun, which was returned from 
the presidio, and left the little town astern, running out of 
the bay, and bearing down the coast again, for Santa Bar- 
bara. As we were now going to leeward, we had a fair 
wind and a plenty of it. After doubling Point Pinos, we 
bore up, set studding-sails alow and aloft, and were walking 
off at the rate of eight or nine knots, promising to traverse 
in twenty-four hours the distance which we were nearly three 
weeks in traversing on the passage up. We passed Point 
Conception at a flying rate, the wind blowing so that it 
would have seemed half a gale to us, if we had been going 
the other way and close hauled. As we drew near the is- 
lands off Santa Barbara, it died away a httle, but we came- 
to at our old anchoring-groimd in less than thirty hours from 
the time of leaving Monterey. 

Here everything was pretty much as we left it — the 
large bay without a vessel in it ; the surf roaring and rolling 
in upon the beach ; the white mission ; the dark town, and 
the high, treeless mountains. Here, too, we had our south- 
easter tacks aboard again, — slip-ropes, buoy-ropes, sails 
furled with reefs in them, and rope-yarns for gaskets. 
We lay here about a fortnight, employed in landing goods 
and taking off hides, occasionally, when the surf was not 
high ; but there did not appear to be one-half the business 
doing here that there was in Monterey. In fact, so far as 
we were concerned, the town might almost as well have been 
in the middle of the Cordilleras. We lay at a distance of 
three miles from the beach, and the town was nearly a mile 
farther ; so that we saw little or nothing of it. Occasionally 

95 



96 TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 

we landed a few goods, which were taken away by Indians 
in large, clumsy ox-carts, with the yoke on the ox's neck 
instead of under it, and with small solid wheels. A few 
hides were brought down, which we carried off in the 
California style. This we had now got pretty well accus- 
tomed to ; and hardened to also ; for it does require a Httle 
hardening even to the toughest. 

The hides are always brought down dry, or they would 
not be received. When they are taken from the animal, 
they have holes cut in the ends, and are staked out, and 
thus dried in the sun without shrinking. They are then 
doubled once, lengthwise, with the hair side usually in, and 
sent down upon mules or in carts, and piled above high- 
water mark ; and then we take them upon our heads, one 
at a time, or two, if they are small, and wade out with them 
and throw them into the boat, which, as there are no 
wharves, we usually kept anchored by a small hedge, or 
keeleg, just outside of the surf. We all provided ourselves 
with thick Scotch caps, which would be soft to the head, 
and at the same time protect it; for we soon found that 
however it might look or feel at first, the "head-work" was 
the only system for California. For besides that the seas, 
breaking high, often obHged us to carry the hides so, in 
order to keep them dry, we found that, as they were very 
large and heavy, and nearly as stiff as boards, it was the only 
way that we could carry them with any convenience to 
ourselves. Some of the crew tried other expedients, saying 
that that looked too much Uke West India negroes ; but 
they all came to it at last. The great art is in getting them 
on the head. We had to take them from the ground, and 
as they were often very heavy, and as wide as the arms 
could stretch, and easily taken by the wind, we used to have 
some trouble with them. I have often been laughed at my- 
self, and joined in laughing at others, pitching themselves 
down in the sand, trying to swing a large hide upon their 
heads, or nearly blown over with one in a little gust of wind. 
The captain made it harder for us, by telling us that it was 



TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 97 

"California fashion" to carry two on the head at a time; 
and as he insisted upon it, and we did not wish to be out- 
done by other vessels, we carried two for the first few 
months; but after falling in with a few other "hide drog- 
hers," and finding that they carried only one at a time, we 
"knocked off " the extra one, and thus made our duty some- 
what easier. 

After we had got our heads used to the weight, and had 
learned the true California style of tossing a hide, we could 
carry off two or three hundred in a short time, without much 
trouble ; but it was always wet work, and, if the beach was 
stony, bad for our feet ; for we, of course, always went bare- 
footed on this duty, as no shoes could stand such constant 
wetting with salt water. Then, too, we had a long pull of 
three miles, with a loaded boat, which often took a couple 
of hours. 

We had now got well settled down into our harbor duties, 
which, as they are a good deal different from those at sea, 
it may be well enough to describe. In the first place, all 
hands are called at daylight, or rather — especially if the 
days are short — before daylight, as soon as the first grey 
of the morning. The cook makes his fire in the galley; 
the steward goes about his work in the cabin; and the 
crew rig the head pump, and wash down the decks. The 
chief mate is always on deck, but takes no active part, all 
the duty coming upon the second mate, who has to roll up 
his trowsers and paddle about decks barefooted, like the 
rest of the crew. The washing, swabbing, squilgeeing, etc., 
lasts, or is made to last, until eight o'clock, when breakfast 
is ordered, fore and aft. After breakfast, for which half 
an hour is allowed, the boats are lowered down, and made 
fast astern, or out to the swinging booms, by geswarps, 
and the crew are turned-to upon their day's work. This 
is various, and its character depends upon circumstances. 
There is always more or less of boating, in small boats ; and 
if heavy goods are to be taken ashore, or hides are brought 
down to the beach for us, then all hands are sent ashore with 



98 TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 

an officer in the long-boat. Then there is always a good deal 
to be done in the hold : goods to be broken out ; and cargo 
to be shifted, to make room for hides, or to keep the trim 
of the vessel. In addition to this, the usual work upon the 
rigging must be going on. There is a good deal of the latter 
kind of work which can only be done when the vessel is in 
port ; — and then everything must be kept taught and in 
good order ; spun-yarn made ; chafing gear repaired ; and 
all the other ordinary work. The great difference between 
sea and harbor duty is in the division of time. Instead of 
having a watch on deck and a watch below, as at sea, all 
hands are at work together, except at meal times, from day- 
light tin dark; and at night an ''anchor-watch" is kept, 
which consists of only two at a time ; the whole crew taking 
turns. An hour is allowed for dinner, and at dark, the decks 
are cleared up ; the boats hoisted ; supper ordered ; and at 
eight, the lights put out, except in the binnacle, where the 
glass stands ; and the anchor-watch is set. Thus, when at 
anchor, the crew have more time at night (standing watch 
only about two hours), but have no time to themselves in 
the day; so that reading, mending clothes, etc., has to be 
put off until Sunday, which is usually given. Some reHgious 
captains give their crews Saturday afternoons to do their 
washing and mending in, so that they may have their 
Simdays free. This is a good arrangement, and does much 
toward creating the preference sailors usually show for 
reHgious vessels. We were well satisfied if we got Sunday 
to ourselves, for, if any hides came down on that day, as was 
often the case when they were brought from a distance, we 
were obliged to bring them off, which usually took half a 
day ; and as we now Hved on fresh beef, and ate one bullock 
a week, the animal was almost always brought down on 
Sunday, and we had to go ashore, kill it, dress it, and bring 
it aboard, which was another interruption. Then, too, our 
common day's work was protracted and made more fatigu- 
ing by hides coming down late in the afternoon, which some- 
times kept us at work in the surf by star-light, with the 



TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 99 

prospect of pulling on board, and stowing them all away, 
before supper. 

But all these little vexations and labors would have been 
nothing, — they would have been passed by as the common 
evils of a sea-life, which every sailor, who is a man, will go 
through without complaint, — were it not for the uncer- 
tainty, or worse than uncertainty, which hung over the 
nature and length of our voyage. Here we were, in a little 
vessel, with a small crew, on a half-civilized coast, at the 
ends of the earth, and with a prospect of remaining an 
indefinite period, two or three years at the least. When we 
left Boston we supposed that it was to be a voyage of 
eighteen months, or two years, at most ; but upon arriving 
on the coast, we learned something more of the trade, and 
found that in the scarcity of hides, which was yearly greater 
and greater, it would take us a year, at least, to collect our 
own cargo, beside the passage out and home ; and that we 
were also to collect a cargo for a large ship belonging to the 
same firm, which was soon to come on the coast, and to 
which we were to act as tender. We had heard rumors 
of such a ship to follow us, which had leaked out from the 
captain and mate, but we passed them by as mere "yarns," 
till our arrival, when they were confirmed by the letters 
which we brought from the owners to their agent. The ship 
California, belonging to the same firm, had been nearly 
two years on the coast ; had collected a full cargo, and was 
now at San Diego, from which port she was expected to sail 
in a few weeks for Boston ; and we were to collect all the 
hides we could, and deposit them at San Diego, when the 
new ship, which would carry forty thousand, was to be filled 
and sent home ; and then we were to begin anew, and collect 
our own cargo. Here was a gloomy prospect before us, 
indeed. The California had been twenty months on the 
coast, and the Lagoda, a smaller ship, carrying only thirty- 
one or thirty-two thousand, had been two years getting her 
cargo; and we were to collect a cargo of forty thousand 
beside our own, which would be twelve or fifteen thousand ; 



loo TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 

and hides were said to be growing scarcer. Then, too, this 
ship, which had been to us a worse phantom than any- 
Flying Dutchman, was no phantom, or ideal thing, but had 
been reduced to a certainty ; so much so that a name was 
given her, and it was said that she was to be the Alert, a 
well-known Indiaman, which was expected in Boston in a 
few months, when we sailed. There ^could be no doubt, and 
all looked black enough. Hints were thrown out about 
three years and four years ; — the older sailors said they 
never should see Boston again, but should lay their bones 
in California ; and a cloud seemed to hang over the whole 
voyage. Besides, we were not provided for so long a voy- 
age, and clothes, and all sailors' necessaries, were excessively 
dear — three or four hundred per cent, advance upon the 
Boston prices. This was bad enough for them; but still 
worse was it for me, who did not mean to be a sailor for life ; 
having intended only to be gone eighteen months or two 
years. Three or four years would make me a sailor in 
every respect, mind and habits, as well as body — nolens 
volens ; and would put all my companions so far ahead of 
me that college and a profession would be in vain to think 
of ; and I made up my mind that, feel as I might, a sailor 
I must be, and to be master of a vessel, must be the height 
of my ambition. ^• 

Beside the length of the voyage, and the hard and exposed 
hfe, we were at the ends of the earth; on a coast almost 
solitary ; in a country where there is neither law nor gospel, 
and where sailors are at their captain's mercy, there being 
no American consul, or any one to whom a complaint could 
be made. We lost all interest in the voyage ; cared noth- 
ing about the cargo, which we were only collecting for 
others ; began to patch our clothes ; and felt as though we 
were fixed beyond all hope of change. 

In addition to, and perhaps partly as a consequence of, 
this state of things, there was trouble brewing on board the 
vessel. Our mate (as the first mate is always called, par 
excellence) was a worthy man ; — a more honest, upright, 



TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST loi 

and kind-hearted man I never saw ; but he was too good for 
the mate of a merchantman. He was not the man to knock 
a sailor down with a handspike. He wanted the energy 
and spirit for such a voyage as ours, and for such a captain. 

Captain T was a vigorous, energetic fellow. As sailors 

say, "he hadn't a lazy bone in him." He was made of steel 
and whalebone. He v^as a man to "toe the mark," and to 
make every one else btep up to it. During all the time 
that I was with him, I never saw him sit down on deck. 
He was always active and driving ; severe in his discipline, 
and expected the same of his ofl&cers. The mate not being 
enough of a driver for him, and being perhaps too easy with 
the crew, he was dissatisfied with him, became suspicious 
that discipline was getting relaxed, and began to interfere 
in everything. He drew the reins taughter ; and as, in all 
quarrels between officers, the sailors side with the one who 
treats them best, he became suspicious of the crew. He 
saw that everything went wrong — that nothing was done 
"with a will " ; and in his attempt to remedy the difficulty 
by severity, he made everything worse. We were in every 
respect unfortunately situated. Captain, officers, and crew, 
entirely unfitted for one another ; and every circumstance 
and event was like a two-edged sword, and cut both ways. 
The length of the voyage, which made us dissatisfied, made 
the captain, at the same time, feel the necessity of order and 
strict disciphne; and the nature of the country, which 
caused us to feel that we had nowhere to go for redress, but 
were entirely at the mercy of a hard master, made the cap- 
tain feel, on the other hand, that he must depend entirely 
upon his own resources. Severity created discontent, and 
signs of discontent provoked severity. Then, too, ill-treat- 
ment and dissatisfaction are no "linimenta laborum" ; and 
many a time have I heard the sailors say that they should 
not mind the length of the voyage, and the hardships, if they 
were only kindly treated, and if they could feel that some- 
thing was done to make things lighter and easier. We felt 
as though our situation was a call upon our superiors to give 



I02 TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 

us occasional relaxations, and to make our yoke easier. 
But the contrary policy was pursued. We were kept at 
work all day when in port ; which, together with a watch 
at night, made us glad to turn-in as soon as we got below. 
Thus we got no time for reading, or — which was of more 
importance to us — for washing and mending our clothes. 
And then, when we were at sea, sailing from port to port, 
instead of giving us "watch and watch," as was the custom 
on board every other vessel on the coast, we were all kept 
on deck and at work, rain or shine, making spun-yarn and 
rope, and at other work in good weather, and picking oakum, 
when it was too wet for anything else. All hands were 
called to "come up and see it rain," and kept on deck hour 
after hour in a drenching rain, standing round the deck so 
far apart as to prevent our talking with one another, with 
our tarpaulins and oil-cloth jackets on, picking old rope to 
pieces, or laying up gaskets and robands. This was often 
done, too, when we were lying in port with two anchors 
down, and no necessity for more than one man on deck as 
a look-out. This is what is called "hazing" a crew, and 
"working their old iron up." 

While lying at Santa Barbara, we encountered another 
south-easter ; and like the first, it came on in the night ; the 
great black clouds coming round from the southward, cover- 
ing the mountain, and hanging down over the town, appear- 
ing almost to rest upon the roofs of the houses. We made 
sail, slipped our cable, cleared the point, and beat about, 
for four days, in the offing, under close sail, with continual 
rain and high seas and winds. No wonder, thought we, 
they have no rain in the other seasons, for enough seemed 
to have fallen in those four days to last through a common 
summer. On the fifth day it cleared up, after a few hours, 
as is usual, of rain coming down like a four hours' shower- 
bath, and we found ourselves drifted nearly ten leagues 
from the anchorage ; and having light head winds, we did not 
return until the sixth day. Having recovered our anchor, 
we made preparations for getting under weigh to go down 



TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 103 

to leeward. We had hoped to go directly to San Diego, 
and thus fall in with the California before she sailed for 
Boston; but our orders were to stop at an intermediate 
port called San Pedro, and as we were to lie there a week or 
two, and the California was to sail in a few days, we lost 
the opportunity. Just before sailing, the captain took on 
board a short, red-haired, round-shouldered, vulgar-looking 
fellow, who had lost one eye, and squinted with the other, 
and introducing him as Mr. Russell, told us that he was 
an officer on board. This was too bad. We had lost over- 
board, on the passage, one of the best of our niunber, another 
had been taken from us and appointed clerk, and thus 
weakened and reduced, instead of shipping some hands to 
make our work easier, he had put another officer over us, 
to watch and drive us. We had now four officers, and only 
six in the forecastle. This was bringing her too much 
down by the stern for our comfort. 

Leaving Santa Barbara, we coasted along down, the 
country appearing level or moderately uneven, and, for 
the most part, sandy and treeless; until, doubhng a high, 
sandy point, we let go our anchor at a distance of three or 
three and a half miles from shore. It was like a vessel, 
bound to Halifax, coming to anchor on the Grand Banks ; 
for the shore being low, appeared to be at a greater distance 
than it actually was, and we thought we might as well have 
staid at Santa Barbara, and sent our boat down for the 
hides. The land was of a clayey consistency, and, as far as 
the eye could reach, entirely bare of trees and even shrubs ; 
and there was no sign of a town, — not even a house to be 
seen. What brought us into such a place, we could not 
conceive. No sooner had we come to anchor, than the slip- 
rope, and the other preparations for south-easters, were got 
ready ; and there was reason enough for it, for we lay ex- 
posed to every wind that could blow, except the north-west, 
and that came over a flat country with a range of more 
than a league of water. As soon as everything was snug on 
board, the boat was lowered, and we pulled ashore, our new 



I04 TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 

officer, who had been several times in the port before, taking 
the place of steersman. As we drew in, we found the tide 
low, and the rocks and stones, covered with kelp and sea- 
weed, lying bare for the distance of nearly an eighth of a 
mile. Picking our way barefooted over these, we came to 
what is called the landing-place, at high-water mark. The 
soil was as it appeared at first, loose and clayey, and except 
the stalks of the mustard plant, there was no vegetation. 
Just in front of the landing, and immediately over it, was a 
small hill, which, from its being not more than thirty or 
forty feet high, we had not perceived from our anchorage. 
Over this hill we saw three men coming down, dressed partly 
like sailors and partly like CaHfornians ; one of them having 
on a pair of untanned leather trowsers and a red baize shirt. 
When they came down to us, we found that they were 
Englishmen, and they told us that they had belonged to a 
small Mexican brig which had been driven ashore here in a 
south-easter, and now lived in a small house just over the 
hill. Going up this hill with them, we saw, just behind it, 
a small, low building, with one room, containing a fire-place, 
cooking-apparatus, etc., and the rest of it unfinished, and 
used as a place to store hides and goods. This, they told 
us, was built by some traders in the Pueblo (a town about 
thirty miles in the interior, to which this was the port), 
and used by them as a storehouse, and also as a lodging- 
place when they came down to trade with the vessels. 
These three men were employed by them to keep the house 
in order, and to look out for the things stored in it. They 
said that they had been there nearly a year ; had nothing 
to do most of the time, living upon beef, hard bread, and 
frijoles (a peculiar kind of bean very abundant in Cali- 
fornia). The nearest house, they told us, was a Rancho, 
or cattle-farm, about three miles ofif ; and one of them went 
up, at the request of our officer, to order a horse to be 
sent down, with which the agent, who was on board, might 
go up to the Pueblo. From one of them, who was an intel- 
ligent English sailor, I learned a good deal, in a few minutes' 



TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 105 

conversation, about the place, its trade, and the news from 
the southern ports. San Diego, he said, was about eighty 
miles to the leeward of San Pedro ; that they had heard from 
there, by a Spaniard who came on horseback, that the 
California had sailed for Boston, and that the Lagoda, 
which had been in San Pedro only a few weeks before, was 
taking in her cargo for Boston. The Ayacucho was also 
there, loading for Callao, and the little LorioUe, which had 
run directly down from Monterey, where we left her. San 
Diego, he told me, was a small, snug place, having very little 
trade, but decidedly the best harbor on the coast, being 
completely land-locked, and the water as smooth as a duck- 
pond. This was the depot for all the vessels engaged in 
the trade; each one having a large house there, built of 
rough boards, in which they stowed their hides, as fast as 
they collected them in their trips up and down the coast, 
and when they had procured a full cargo, spent a few weeks 
there taking it in, smoking ship, supplying wood and water, 
and making other preparations for the voyage home. The 
Lagoda was now about this business. When we should be 
about it, was more than I could tell ; two years, at least, 
I thought to myself. 

I also learned, to my surprise, that the desolate-looking 
place we were in was the best place on the whole coast for 
hides. It was the only port for a distance of eighty miles, 
and about thirty miles in the interior was a fine plane coun- 
try, filled with herds of cattle, in the centre of which was the 
Pueblo de los Angelos — the largest town in California — 
and several of the wealthiest missions ; to all of which San 
Pedro was the sea-port. 

Having made our arrangements for a horse to take the 
agent to the Pueblo the next day, we picked our way again 
over the green, slippery rocks, and pulled aboard. By the 
time we reached the vessel, which was so far off that we 
could hardly see her, in the increasing darkness, the boats 
were hoisted up, and the crew at supper. Going down into 
the forecastle, eating our supper, and lighting our cigars 



io6 TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 

and pipes, we had, as usual, to tell all we had seen or heard 
ashore. We all agreed that it was the worst place we had 
seen yet, especially for getting off hides, and our lying off 
at so great a distance looked as though it was bad for south- 
easters. After a few disputes as to whether we should have 
to carry our goods up the hill, or not, we talked of San 
Diego, the probability of seeing the Lagoda before she 
sailed, etc. 

The next day we pulled the agent ashore, and he went up 
to visit the Pueblo and the neighboring missions ; and in a 
few days, as the result of his labors, large ox-carts, and 
droves of mules, loaded with hides, were seen coming over 
the flat country. We loaded our long-boat with goods of 
all kinds, light and heavy, and pulled ashore. After land- 
ing and rolhng them over the stones upon the beach, 
we stopped, waiting for the carts to come down the hill and 
take them ; but the captain soon settled the matter by 
ordering us to carry them all up to the top, saying that 
that was "California fashion." So what the oxen would 
not do, we were obHged to do. The hill was low, but steep, 
and the earth, being clayey and wet with the recent rains, 
was but bad holding-ground for our feet. The heavy bar- 
rels and casks we rolled up with some difl&culty, getting 
behind and putting our shoulders to them ; now and then 
our feet slipping, added to the danger of the casks rolling 
back upon us. But the greatest trouble was with the large 
boxes of sugar. These, we had to place upon oars, and 
lifting them up, rest the oars upon our shoulders, and creep 
slowly up the hill with the gait of a funeral procession. After 
an hour or two of hard work, we got them all up, and 
found the carts standing full of hides, which we had to 
unload, and also to load again with our own goods ; the lazy 
Indians, who came down with them, squatting down on 
their hams, looking on, doing nothing, and when we asked 
them to help us, only shaking their heads, or drawling out 
"no quiero." 

Having loaded the carts, we started up the Indians, who 



TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 107 

went o£f, one on each side of the oxen, with long sticks, 
sharpened at the end, to punch them with. This is one 
of the means of saving labor in California ; — two Indians 
to two oxen. Now, the hides were to be got down ; and for 
this purpose, we brought the boat round to a place where 
the hill was steeper, and threw them down, letting them 
slide over the slope. Many of them lodged, and we had to 
let ourselves down and set them agoing again ; and in this 
way got covered with dust, and our clothes torn. After 
we had got them all down, we were obliged to take them on 
our heads, and walk over the stones, and through the water, 
to the boat. The water and the stones together would wear 
out a pair of shoes a day, and as shoes were very scarce and 
very dear, we were compelled to go barefooted. At night, 
we went on board, having had the hardest and most dis- 
agreeable day's work that we had yet experienced. For 
several days, we were employed in this manner, until we 
had landed forty or fifty tons of goods, and brought on board 
about two thousand hides ; when the trade began to slacken, 
and we were kept at work, on board, during the latter part 
of the week, either in the hold or upon the rigging. On 
Thursday night, there was a violent blow from the north- 
ward, but as this was off-shore, we had only to let go our 
other anchor and hold on. We were called up at night to 
send down the royal-yards. It was as dark as a pocket, and 
the vessel pitching at her anchors. I went up to the fore, 

and my friend S , to the main, and we soon had them 

down "ship-shape and Bristol fashion";' for, as we had 
now got used to our duty aloft, everything above the cross- 
trees was left to us, who were the youngest of the crew, 
except one boy. 



CHAPTER XV 

For several days the captain seemed very much out of 
humor. Nothing went right, or fast enough for him. He 
quarrelled with the cook, and threatened to flog him for 
throwing wood on deck ; and had a dispute with the mate 
about reeving a Spanish burton; the mate saying that 
he was right, and had been taught how to do it by a man 
who was a sailor ! This, the captain took in dudgeon, and 
they were at sword's points at once. But his displeasure 
was chiefly turned against a large, heavy-moulded feUow 
from the Middle States, who was called Sam. This man 
hesitated in his speech, and was rather slow in his motions, 
but was a pretty good sailor, and always seemed to do his 
best ; but the captain took a dishke to him, thought he was 
surly, and lazy ; and "if you once give a dog a bad name" — 
as the sailor-phrase is — ''he may as well jump over- 
board." The captain found fault with everything this 
man did, and hazed him for dropping a marline-spike from 
the main-yard, where he was at work. This, of course, was 
an accident, but it was set down against him. The captain 
was on board all day Friday, and everything went on hard 
and disagreeably. "The more you drive a man, the less 
he will do," was as true with us as with any other people. 
We worked late Friday night, and were turned-to, early 
Saturday morning. About ten o'clock the captain ordered 
our new ofiicer, Russell, who by this time had become 
thoroughly disliked by all the crew, to get the gig ready 
to take him ashore. John, the Swede, was sitting in the 
boat alongside, and Russell and myself were standing by 
the main hatchway, waiting for the captain, who was down 
in the hold, where the crew were at work, when we heard his 

io8 



TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 109 

voice raised in violent dispute with somebody, whether it 
was with the mate, or one of the crew, I could not tell; and 
then came blows and scuffling. I ran to the side and 
beckoned to John, who came up, and we leaned down the 
hatchway; and though we could see no one, yet we knew 
that the captain had the advantage, for his voice was loud 
and clear — 

*'You see your condition! You see your condition! 
Will you ever give me any more of your jaw?^' No an- 
swer ; and then came wrestHng and heaving, as though the 
man was trying to turn him. "You may as well keep still, 
for I have got you," said the captain. Then came the ques- 
tion, "Will you ever give me any more of your jaw?" 

"I never gave you any, sir," said Sam; for it was his 
voice that we heard, though low and half choked. 

"That's not what I ask you. Will you ever be impudent 
to me again ?" 

"I never have been, sir," said Sam. 

"Answer my question, or I'll make a spread eagle of you ! 
I'll flog you." 

"I'm no negro slave," said Sam. 

"Then I'll make you one," said the captain ; and he came 
to the hatchway, and sprang on deck, threw off his coat, 
and rolHng up his sleeves, called out to the mate — "Seize 

that man up, Mr. A ! Seize him up ! Make a spread 

eagle of him ! I'll teach you all who is master aboard ! " 

The crew and officers followed the captain up the hatch- 
way, and after repeated orders the mate laid hold of Sam, 
who made no resistance, and carried him to the gangway. 

"What are you going to flog that man for, sir?" said 
John, the Swede, to the captain. 

Upon hearing this, the captain turned upon him, but 
knowing him to be quick and resolute, he ordered the 
steward to bring the irons, and calhng upon Russell to help 
him, went up to John. 

"Let me alone," said John. "I'm willing to be put in 
irons. You need not use any force;" and putting out his 



no TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 

hands, the captain slipped the irons on, and sent him aft 
to the quarter-deck. Sam by this time was seized up, as it 
is called, that is, placed against the shrouds, with his wrists 
made fast to the shrouds, his jacket off, and his back ex- 
posed. The captain stood on the break of the deck, a few 
feet from him, and a little raised, so as to have a good swing 
at him, and held in his hand the bight of a thick, strong rope. 
The officers stood round, and the crew grouped together in 
the waist. All these preparations made me feel sick and 
almost faint, angry and excited as I was. A man — a 
human being, made in God's likeness — fastened up and 
flogged like a beast ! A man, too, whom I had lived with 
and eaten with for months, and knew almost as well as a 
brother. The first and almost uncontrollable impulse was 
resistance. But what was to be done? The time for it 
had gone by. The two best men were fast, and there were 
only two beside myself, and a small boy of ten or twelve 
years of age. And then there were (beside the captain) 
three officers, steward, agent, and clerk. But beside the 
numbers, what is there for sailors to do? If they resist, 
it is mutiny ; and if they succeed, and take the vessel, it is 
piracy. If they ever yield again, their punishment must 
come; and if they do not yield, they are pirates for life. 
If a sailor resist his commander, he resists the law, and 
piracy or submission are his only alternatives. Bad as it 
was, it must be borne. It is what a sailor ships for. Swing- 
ing the rope over his head, and bending his body so as to 
give it full force, the captain brought it down upon the 
poor fellow's back. Once, twice, — six times. "Will you 
ever give me any more of your jaw?" The man writhed 
with pain, but said not a word. Three times more. This 
was too much, and he muttered something which I could 
not hear; this brought as many more as the man could 
stand ; when the captain ordered him to be cut down, and 
to go forward. 

"Now for you," said the captain, making up to John and 
taking his irons off. As soon as he was loose, he ran for- 



TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST iii 

ward to the forecastle. "Bring that man aft," shouted the 
captain. The second mate, who had been a shipmate of 
John's, stood still in the waist, and the mate walked slowly 
forward; but our third officer, anxious to show his zeal, 
sprang forward over the windlass, and laid hold of John; 
but he soon threw him from him. At this moment I would 
have given worlds for the power to help the poor fellow; 
but it was all in vain. The captain stood on the quarter- 
deck, bare-headed, his eyes flashing with rage, and his face 
as red as blood, swinging the rope, and calling out to his 
officers, "Drag him aft ! — Lay hold of him ! I'll sweeten 
him ! " etc. The mate now went forward and told John 
quietly to go aft ; and he, seeing resistance in vain, threw 
the blackguard third mate from him ; said he would go aft 
of himself; that they should not drag him; and went up 
to the gangway and held out his hands ; but as soon as the 
captain began to make him fast, the indignity was too much, 
and he began to resist ; but the mate and Russell holding 
him, he was soon seized up. When he was made fast, he 
turned to the captain, who stood turning up his sleeves and 
getting ready for the blow, and asked him what he was to be 
flogged for. "Have I ever refused my duty, sir? Have 
you ever known me to hang back, or to be insolent, or not 
to know my work ? " 

"No," said the captain, "it is not that that I flog you for ; 
I flog you for your interference — for asking questions." 

" Can't a man ask a question here without being flogged ?" 

"No," shouted the captain; "nobody shall open his 
mouth aboard this vessel, but myself ;" and he began laying 
the blows upon his back, swinging half round between each 
blow, to give it full effect. As he went on, his passion in- 
creased, and he danced about the deck, calling out as he 
swung the rope, — "If you want to know what I flog you 
for, I'll tell you. It's because I like to do it ! — because I 
like to do it ! — It suits me ! That's what I do it for ! " 

The man writhed under the pain, until he could endure 
it no longer, when he called out, with an exclamation more 



112 TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 

common among foreigners than with us — "Oh, Jesus 
Christ ! Oh, Jesus Christ ! " 

"Don't call on Jesus Christ," shouted the captain; ^^ he 

can't help you. Call on Captain T . He's the man ! 

He can help you ! Jesus Christ can't help you now ! " 

At these words, which I never shall forget, my blood 
ran cold. I could look on no longer. Disgusted, sick, and 
horror-struck, I turned away and leaned over the rail, and 
looked down into the water. A few rapid thoughts of my 
own situation, and of the prospect of future revenge, crossed 
my mind; but the falling of the blows and the cries of 
the man called me back at once. At length they ceased, and 
turning round, I found that the mate, at a signal from the 
captain, had cut him down. Almost doubled up with pain, 
the man walked slowly forward, and went down into the 
forecastle. Every one else stood still at his post, while the 
captain, swelling with rage and with the importance of his 
achievement, walked the quarter-deck, and at each turn, as 
he came forward, calling out to us, — "You see your con- 
dition ! You see where I've got you all, and you know 
what to expect ! " — "You've been mistaken in me — you 
didn't know what I was ! Now you know what I am ! " 
— "I'll make you toe the mark, every soul of you, or I'll 
flog you all, fore and aft, from the boy, up ! " — "You've 
got a driver over you ! Yes, a slave-driver — a negro- 
driver! I'll see who'll tell me he isn't a negro slave!" 
With this and the like matter, equally calculated to quiet 
us, and to allay any apprehensions of future trouble, he 
entertained us for about ten minutes, when he went below. 
Soon after, John came aft, with his bare back covered with 
stripes and wales in every direction, and dreadfully swollen, 
and asked the steward to ask the captain to let him have 
some salve, or balsam, to put upon it. "No," said the 
captain, who heard him from below; "tell him to put his 
shirt on ; that's the best thing for him ; and pull me ashore 
in the boat. Nobody is going to lay-up on board this 
vessel." He then called to Mr. Russell to take those two 



TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 113 

men and two others in the boat, and pull him ashore. I 
went for one. The two men could hardly bend their backs, 
and the captain called to them to "give way," "give way ! " 
but finding they did their best, he let them alone. The 
agent was in the stern sheets, but during the whole pull 
— a league or more — not a word was spoken. We landed ; 
the captain, agent, and officer went up to the house, and left 
us with the boat. I, and the man with me, staid near the 
boat, while John and Sam walked slowly away, and sat down 
on the rocks. They talked some time together, but at 
length separated, each sitting alone. I had some fears of 
John. He was a foreigner, and violently tempered, and 
under suffering; and he had his knife with him, and the 
captain was to come down alone to the boat. But nothing 
happened; and we went quietly on board. The captain 
was probably armed, and if either of them had lifted a hand 
against him, they would have had nothing before them but 
flight, and starvation in the woods of California, or capture 
by the soldiers and Indian blood-hounds, whom the offer of 
twenty dollars would have set upon them. 

After the day's work was done, we went down into the 
forecastle, and ate our plain supper; but not a word was 
spoken. It was Saturday night ; but there was no song — 
no " sweethearts and wives." A gloom was over everything. 
The two men lay in their berths, groaning with pain, and 
we all turned in, but for myself, not to sleep. A sound 
coming now and then from the berths of the two men 
showed that they were awake, as awake they must have 
been, for they could hardly he in one posture a moment; 
the dim, swinging lamp of the forecastle shed its light over 
the dark hole in which we lived ; and many and various 
reflections and purposes coursed through my mind. I 
thought of our situation, living under a tyranny ; of the 
character of the country we were in ; of the length of the 
voyage, and of the uncertainty attending our return to 
America ; and then, if we should return, of the prospect of 
obtaining justice and satisfaction for these poor men ; and 



114 TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 

vowed that if God should ever give me the means, I would 
do something to redress the grievances and relieve the suf- 
ferings of that poor class of beings, of whom I then was one. 

The next day was Sunday. We worked as usual, wash- 
ing decks, etc., until breakfast-time. After breakfast, we 
pulled the captain ashore, and finding some hides there 
which had been brought down the night before, he ordered 
me to stay ashore and watch them, saying that the boat 
would come again before night. They left me, and I spent 
a quiet day on the hill, eating dinner with the three men at 
the httle house. Unfortunately, they had no books, and 
after talking with them and walking about, I began to grow 
tired of doing nothing. The little brig, the home of so much 
hardship and suffering, lay in the offing, almost as far as 
one could see; and the only other thing which broke the 
surface of the great bay was a small, desolate-looking island, 
steep and conical, of a clayey soil, and without the sign of 
vegetable life upon it ; yet which had a peculiar and melan- 
choly interest to me, for on the top of it were buried the 
remains of an Englishman, the commander of a small mer- 
chant brig, who died while lying in this port. It was always 
a solemn and interesting spot to me. There it stood, 
desolate, and in the midst of desolation ; and there were 
the remains of one who died and was buried alone and friend- 
less. Had it been a common burying-place, it would have 
been nothing. The single body corresponded well with 
the solitary character of everything around. It was the 
only thing in California from which I could ever extract 
anything like poetry. Then, too, the man died far from 
home ; without a friend near him ; by poison, it was sus- 
pected, and no one to inquire into it; and without proper 
funeral rites; the mate (as I was told), glad to have him 
out of the way, hurrying him up the hill and into the ground, 
without a word or a prayer. 

I looked anxiously for a boat, during the latter part of the 
afternoon, but none came ; until toward sun-down ; when I 
saw a speck on the water, and as it drew near, I found it was 



TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 115 

the gig, with the captain. The hides, then, were not to go 
off. The captain came up the hill, with a man, bringing 
my monkey jacket and a blanket. He looked pretty black, 
but inquired whether I had enough to eat ; told me to make 
a house out of the hides, and keep myself -warm, as I should 
have to sleep there among them, and to keep good watch 
over them. I got a moment to speak to the man who 
brought my jacket. 

"How do things go aboard?" said I. 

"Bad enough," said he ; "hard work and not a kind word 
spoken." 

"What," said I, "have you been at work all day?" 

"Yes ! no more Sunday for us. Everything has been 
moved in the hold, from stem to stern, and from the water- 
ways to the keelson." 

I went up to the house to supper. We had frijoles (the 
perpetual food of the Calif ornians, but which, when well 
cooked, are the best bean in the world), coffee made of 
burnt wheat, and hard bread. After our meal, the three 
men sat down by the light of a tallow candle, with a pack 
of greasy Spanish cards, to the favorite game of "treinta 
uno," a sort of Spanish "everlasting." I left them and 
went out to take up my bivouac among the hides. It was 
now dark ; the vessel was hidden from sight, and except 
the three men in the house, there was not a living soul with- 
in a league. The coati (a wild animal of a nature and ap- 
pearance between that of the fox and the wolf) set up their 
sharp, quick bark, and two owls, at the end of two distant 
points running out into the bay, on different sides of the hill 
where I lay, kept up their alternate, dismal notes. I had 
heard the sound before at night, but did not know what it 
was, until one of the men, who came down to look at my 
quarters, told me it was the owl. Mellowed by the dis- 
tance, and heard alone, at night, I thought it was the most 
melancholy, boding sound I had ever heard. Through 
nearly all the night they kept it up, answering one another 
slowly, at regular intervals. This was relieved by the noisy 



ii6 TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 

coati, some of which came quite near to my quarters, and 
were not very pleasant neighbors. The next morning, 
before sunrise, the long-boat came ashore, and the hides were 
taken off. 

We lay at San Pedro about a week, engaged in taking 
off hides and in other labors, which had now become our 
regular duties. I spent one more day on the hill, watching 
a quantity of hides and goods, and this time succeeded in 
finding a part of a volume of Scott's Pirate, in a corner of 
the house ; but it failed me at a most interesting moment, 
and I betook myself to my acquaintances on shore, and from 
them learned a good deal about the customs of the country, 
the harbors, etc. This, they told me, was a worse harbor 
than Santa Barbara, for south-easters ; the bearing of the 
headland being a point and a half more to windward, and it 
being so shallow that the sea broke often as far out as where 
we lay at anchor. The gale from which we shpped at Santa 
Barbara, had been so bad a one here, that the whole bay, 
for a league out, was filled with the foam of the breakers, 
and seas actually broke over the Dead Man's island. The 
Lagoda was lying there, and slipped at the first alarm, and 
in such haste that she was obliged to leave her launch be- 
hind her at anchor. The little boat rode it out for several 
hours, pitching at her anchor, and standing with her stern 
up almost perpendicularly. The men told me that they 
watched her till towards night, when she snapped her cable 
and drove up over the breakers, high and dry upon the 
beach. 

On board the Pilgrim, everything went on regularly, each 
one trying to get along as smoothly as possible; but the 
comfort of the voyage was evidently at an end. "That is 
a long lane which has no turning" — "Every dog must have 
his day, and mine will come by-and-by" — and the like 
proverbs, were occasionally quoted ; but no one spoke of 
any probable end to the voyage, or of Boston, or anything 
of the kind ; or if he did, it was only to draw out the per- 
petual, surly reply from his shipmate — "Boston, is it? 



THE CAPTAIN ORDERED HIM TO BE CUT 
DOWN 



San Pedro abo: 



le at a .noment, 



told m 

' -'"-?,5terb , .. 
more to 

■ Ml^(te^e> that me 
;meu. witii me roam o* r' 
, ke over tbe Dead Man'^ 
there, . 



/^i'T, 



It an er 

■ Ucl- ii'.i Lu:-- :-L^ "Eve"- 

ne will c<''me hv-and-bv 



TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 117 

You may thank your stars if you ever see that place. You 
had better have your back sheathed, and your head cop- 
pered, and your feet shod, and make out your log for Cali- 
fornia for life ! " or else something of this kind — "Before 
you get to Boston the hides will wear all the hair off your 
head, and you'll take up all your wages in clothes, and 
won't have enough left to buy a wig with ! " 

The flogging was seldom if ever alluded to by us, in the 
forecastle. If any one was inclined to talk about it, the 
others, with a delicacy which I hardly expected to find 
among them, always stopped him, or turned the subject. 
But the behavior of the two men who were flogged toward 
one another showed a delicacy and a sense of honor, which 
would have been worthy of admiration in the highest walks 
of life. Sam knew that the other had suffered solely on 
his account, and in all his complaints, he said that if he alone 
had been flogged, it would have been nothing ; but that he 
never could see that man without thinking what had been 
the means of bringing that disgrace upon him; and John 
never, by word or deed, let anything escape him to remind 
the other that it was by interfering to save his shipmate, 
that he had suffered. 

Having got all our spare room filled with hides, we hove 
up our anchor and made sail for San Diego. In no operation 
can the disposition of a crew be discovered better than in 
getting under weigh. Where things are done "with a will," 
every one is like a cat aloft : sails are loosed in an instant ; 
each one lays out his strength on his handspike, and the 
windlass goes briskly round with the loud cry of "Yo heave 
ho ! Heave and pawl ! Heave hearty ho ! " But with us, 
at this time, it was all dragging work. No one went aloft 
beyond his ordinary gait, and the chain came slowly in 
over the windlass. The mate, between the knight-heads, 
exhausted all his official rhetoric in calls of "Heave with 
a will!" — "Heave hearty, men! — heave hearty!" — 
"Heave and raise the dead! — Heave, and away!" 
etc.; but it would not do. Nobody broke his back or 



ii8 TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 

his handspike by his efforts. And when the cat-tackle-fall 
was strung along, and all hands — cook, steward, and all 
— laid hold, to cat the anchor, instead of the lively song 
of "Cheerily, men ! " in which all hands join in the chorus, 
we pulled a long, heavy, silent pull, and — as sailors say a 
song is as good as ten men — the anchor came to the cat- 
head pretty slowly. " Give us ' Cheerily ! ' " said the mate ; 
but there was no "cheerily " for us, and we did without it. 
The captain walked the quarter-deck, and said not a word. 
He must have seen the change, but there was nothing which 
he could notice ofhcially. 

We sailed leisurely down the coast before a light, fair 
wind, keeping the land well aboard, and saw two other 
missions, looking like blocks of white plaster, shining in the 
distance ; one of which, situated on the top of a high hill, 
was San Juan Campestrano, under which vessels sometimes 
come to anchor, in the summer season, and take off hides. 
The most distant one was St. Louis Rey, which the third 
mate said was only fifteen miles from San Diego. At sunset 
on the second day, we had a large and well wooded head- 
land directly before us, behind which lay the little harbor of 
San Diego. We were becalmed off this point all night, but 
the next morning, which was Saturday, the 14th of March, 
having a good breeze, we stood round the point, and hauling 
our wind, brought the little harbor, which is rather the outlet 
of a small river, right before us. Every one was anxious to 
get a view of the new place. A chain of high hills, beginning 
at the point (which was on our larboard hand, coming in) , 
protected the harbor on the north and west, and ran off 
into the interior, as far as the eye could reach. On the other 
sides, the land was low, and green, but without trees. The 
entrance is so narrow as to admit but one vessel at a time, 
the current swift, and the channel runs so near to a low 
stony point that the ship's sides appeared almost to touch 
it. There was no town in sight, but on the smooth sand 
beach, abreast, and within a cable's length of which three 
vessels lay moored, were four large houses, built of rough 



TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 119 

boards, and looking like the great barns in which ice is 
stored on the borders of the large ponds near Boston ; with 
piles of hides standing round them, and men in red shirts 
and large straw hats, walking in and out of the doors. 
These were the hide-houses. Of the vessels : one, a short, 
clumsy, little hermaphrodite brig, we recognized as our old 
acquaintance the Loriotte; another, with sharp bows and 
raking masts, newly painted and tarred, and glittering 
in the morning sun, with the blood-red banner and cross 
of St. George at her peak, was the handsome Ayacucho. 
The third was a large ship, with top-gallant-masts housed, 
and sails unbent, and looking as rusty and worn as two 
years' "hide droghing" could make her. This was the 
Lagoda. As we drew near, carried rapidly along by the 
current, we overhauled our chain, and clewed up the top- 
sails. "Let go the anchor!" said the captain; but either 
there was not chain enough forward of the windlass, or the 
anchor went down foul, or we had too much headway on, 
for it did not bring us up. "Pay out chain !" shouted the 
captain ; and we gave it to her ; but it would not do. Be- 
fore the other anchor could be let go, we drifted down, broad- 
side on, and went smash into the Lagoda. Her crew were at 
breakfast in the forecastle, and the cook, seeing us coming, 
rushed out of his galley, and called up the officers and men. 
Fortunately, no great harm was done. Her jib-boom ran 
between our fore and main masts, carrying away some of 
our rigging, and breaking down the rail. She lost her 
martingale. This brought us up, and as they paid out 
chain, we swung clear of them, and let go the other anchor ; 
but this had as bad luck as the first, for, before any one 
perceived it, we were drifting on to the Loriotte. The cap- 
tain now gave out his orders rapidly and fiercely, sheeting 
home the topsails, and backing and filhng the sails, in hope 
of starting or clearing the anchors ; but it was all in vain, 
and he sat down on the rail, taking it very leisurely, and 
calling out to Captain Nye, that he was coming to pay him 
a visit. We drifted fairly into the Loriotte, her larboard 



I20 TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 

bow into our starboard quarter, carrying away a part of our 
starboard quarter railing, and breaking off her larboard 
bumpkin, and one or two stanchions above the deck. We 
saw our handsome sailor, Jackson, on the forecastle, with 
the Sandwich Islanders, working away to get us clear. 
After paying out chain, we swung clear, but our anchors 
were no doubt afoul of hers. We manned the windlass, 
and hove, and hove away, but to no purpose. Sometimes 
we got a Httle upon the cable, but a good surge would take 
it all back again. We now began to drift down toward the 
Ayacucho, when her boat put off and brought her com- 
mander. Captain Wilson, on board. He was a short, ac- 
tive, well-built man, between fifty and sixty years of age ; 
and being nearly thirty years older than our captain, and a 
thorough seaman, he did not hesitate to give his advice, 
and from giving advice, he gradually came to taking the 
command; ordering us when to heave and when to pawl, 
and backing and filling the topsails, setting and taking in 
jib and trysail, whenever he thought best. Our captain 
gave a few orders, but as Wilson generally countermanded 
them, saying, in an easy, fatherly kind of way, "Oh no! 

Captain T , you don't want the jib on her," or "it isn't 

time yet to heave ! " he soon gave it up. We had no objec- 
tions to this state of things, for Wilson was a kind old man, 
and had an encouraging and pleasant way of speaking to 
us, which made everything go easily. After two or three 
hours of constant labor at the windlass, heaving and "Yo 
ho !"-ing with all our might, we brought up an anchor, with 
the Loriotte's small bower fast to it. Having cleared this 
and let it go, and cleared our hawse, we soon got our other 
anchor, which had dragged half over the harbor. "Now," 
said Wilson, "I'll find you a good berth;" and setting both 
the topsails, he carried us down, and brought us to anchor, 
in handsome style, directly abreast of the hide-house which 
we were to use. Having done this, he took his leave, while 
we furled the sails, and got our breakfast, which was wel- 
come to us, for we had worked hard, and it was nearly twelve 



TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 121 

o'clock. After breakfast, and until night, we were employed 
in getting out the boats and mooring ship. 

After supper, two of us took the captain on board the 
Lagoda. As he came alongside, he gave his name, and the 
mate, in the gangway, called out to the captain down the 

companion-way — "Captain T has come aboard, sir !" 

"Has he brought his brig with him? " said the rough old 
fellow, in a tone which made itself heard fore and aft. This 
mortified our captain a little, and it became a standing joke 
among us for the rest of the voyage. The captain went 
down into the cabin, and we walked forward and put our 
heads down the forecastle, where 'we found the men at 
supper. " Come down, shipmates ! come down !" said they, 
as soon as they saw us; and we went down, and found a 
large, high forecastle, well lighted ; and a crew of twelve or 
fourteen men, eating out of their kids and pans, and drink- 
ing their tea, and talking and laughing, all as independent 
and easy as so many "wood-sawyer's clerks." This looked 
like comfort and enjoyment, compared with the dark little 
forecastle, and scanty, discontented crew of the brig. It 
was Saturday night; they had got through their work for 
the week; and being snugly moored, had nothing to do 
until Monday, again. After two years' hard service, they 
had seen the worst, and all, of California ; — had got their 
cargo nearly stowed, and expected to sail in a week or two, for 
Boston. We spent an hour or more with them, talking over 
California matters, until the word was passed — "Pilgrims, 
away !" and we went back with our captain. They were a 
hardy, but intelligent crew; a httle roughened, and their 
clothes patched and old, from California wear ; all able sea- 
men, and between the ages of twenty and thirty-five. They 
inquired about our vessel, the usage, etc., and were not a 
little surprised at the story of the flogging. They said there 
were often difficulties in vessels on the coast, and sometimes 
knock-downs and fightings, but they had never heard before 
of a regular seizing-up and flogging. "Spread eagles" were 
a new kind of bird in California. 



122 TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 

Sunday, they said, was always given in San Diego, both 
at the hide-houses and on board the vessels, a large number 
usually going up to the town, on liberty. We learned a 
good deal from them about curing and stowing of hides, etc., 
and they were anxious to have the latest news (seven 
months old) from Boston. One of their j&rst inquiries was 
for Father Taylor, the seamen's preacher in Boston. Then 
followed the usual strain of conversation, inquiries, stories, 
and jokes, which one must always hear in a ship's forecastle, 
but which are perhaps, after all, no worse, nor, indeed, more 
gross, than that of many well-dressed gentlemen at their 
clubs. 



CHAPTER XVI .- 

The next day being Sunday, after washing and clearing 
decks, and getting breakfast, the mate came forward with 
leave for one watch to go ashore, on liberty. We drew lots, 
and it fell to the larboard, which I was in. Instantly all 
was preparation. Buckets of fresh water (which we were 
allowed in port), and soap, were put in use; go-ashore 
jackets and trowsers got out and brushed ; pumps, necker- 
chiefs, and hats overhauled; one lending to another; so 
that among the whole each one got a good fit-out. A boat 
was called to pull the "liberty men" ashore, and we sat 
down in the stern sheets, "as big as pay-passengers," and 
jumping ashore, set out on our walk for the town, which 
was nearly three miles off. 

It is a pity that some other arrangement is not made in 
merchant vessels, with regard to the liberty-day. When 
in port, the crews are kept at work all the week, and the only 
day they are allowed for rest or pleasure is the Sabbath; 
and unless they go ashore on that day, they cannot go at 
all. I have heard of a religious captain who gave his crew 
liberty on Saturdays, after twelve o'clock. This would 
be a good plan, if shipmasters would bring themselves to 
give their crews so much time. For young sailors especially, 
many of whom have been brought up with a regard for the 
sacredness of the day, this strong temptation to break it, 
is exceedingly injurious. As it is, it can hardly be expected 
that a crew, on a long and hard voyage, will refuse a few 
hours of freedom from toil and the restraints of a vessel, 
and an opportunity to tread the ground and see the sights 
of society and humanity, because it is on a Sunday. It 
is too much like escaping from prison, or being drawn out 
of a pit, on the Sabbath day. 

123 



124 TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 

I shall never forget the delightful sensation of being in 
the open air, with the birds singing around me, and escaped 
from the confinement, labor, and strict rule of a vessel — 
of being once more in my life, though only for a day, my own 
master. A sailor's Hberty is but for a day; yet while it 
lasts it is perfect. He is under no one's eye, and can do 
whatever, and go wherever, he pleases. This day, for the 
first time, I may truly say, in my whole life, I felt the mean- 
ing of a term which I had often heard — the sweets of 

Hberty. My friend S was with me, and turning our 

backs upon the vessels, we walked slowly along, talking of 
the pleasure of being our own masters, of the times past, 
when we were free and in midst of friends, in America, and 
of the prospect of our return ; and planning where we would 
go, and what we would do, when we reached home. It was 
wonderful how the prospect brightened, and how short and 
tolerable the voyage appeared, when viewed in this new 
light. Things looked differently from what they did when 
we talked them over in the httle dark forecastle, the night 
after the flogging at San Pedro. It is not the least of the 
advantages of allowing sailors occasionally a day of liberty, 
that it gives them a spring, and makes them feel cheerful 
and independent, and leads them insensibly to look on the 
bright side of everything for some time after. 

S and myself determined to keep as much together 

as possible, though we knew that it would not do to cut 
our shipmates ; for, knowing our birth and education, they 
were a little suspicious that we would try to put on the 
gentleman when we got ashore, and would be asham.ed of 
their company; and this won't do with Jack. When the 
voyage is at an end, you may do as you please, but so long 
as you belong to the same vessel, you must be a shipmate 
to him on shore, or he will not be a shipmate to you on board. 
Being forewarned of this before I went to sea, I took no 
"long togs" with me, and being dressed like the rest, in 
white duck trowsers, blue jacket and straw hat, which 
would prevent my going in better company, and showing 



TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 125 

no disposition to avoid them, I set all suspicion at rest. 
Our crew fell in with some who belonged to the other vessels, 
and, sailor-like, steered for the first grog-shop. This was 
a small mud building, of only one room, in which were 
liquors, dry and West India goods, shoes, bread, fruits, 
and everything which is vendible in California, It was 
kept by a Yankee, a one-eyed man, who belonged formerly 
to Fall River, came out to the Pacific in a whale-ship, left 
her at the Sandwich Islands, and came to California and 
set up a "Pulperia." S— — and I followed in our ship- 
mates' wake, knowing that to refuse to drink with them 
would be the highest affront, but determining to sHp away 
at the first opportunity. It is the universal custom with 
sailors for each one, in his turn, to treat the whole, calling 
for a glass all round, and obliging every one who is present, 
even to the keeper of the shop, to take a glass with him. 
When we first came in, there was some dispute between our 
crew and the others, whether the new comers or the old 
California rangers should treat first; but it being settled 
in favor of the latter, each of the crews of the other vessels 
treated all round in their turn, and as there were a good 
many present (including some "loafers" who had dropped 
in, knowing what was going on, to take advantage of Jack's 
hospitahty), and the Liquor was a real (12^ cents) a glass, 
it made somewhat of a hole in their lockers. It was now 
our ship's turn, and S— — and I, anxious to get away, 
stepped up to call for glasses; but we soon found that we 
must go in order — the oldest first, for the old sailors did 
not choose to be preceded by a couple of youngsters ; and 
hon gre, mal gre, we had to wait our turn, with the twofold 
apprehension of being too late for our horses, and of getting 
corned ; for drink you must, every time ; and if you drink 
with one and not with another, it is always taken as an 
insult. 

Having at length gone through our turns and acquitted 
ourselves of all obhgations, we slipped out, and went about 
among the houses, endeavoring to get horses for the day, 



126 TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 

so that we might ride round and see the country. At first 
we had but little success, all that we could get out of the 
lazy fellows, in reply to our questions, being the eternal 
drawling ''Quien sabe?" ("Who knows?") which is an 
answer to all questions. After several efforts, we at length 
fell in with a little Sandwich Island boy, who belonged to 
Captain Wilson of the Ayacucho, and was well acquainted 
in the place ; and he, knowing where to go, soon procured 
us two horses, ready saddled and bridled, each with a lasso 
coiled over the pommel. These we were to have all day, 
with the privilege of riding them down to the beach at night, 
for a dollar, which we had to pay in advance. Horses are 
the cheapest thing in California; the very best not being 
worth more than ten dollars apiece, and very good ones 
being often sold for three, and four. In taking a day's ride, 
you pay for the use of the saddle, and for the labor and 
trouble of catching the horses. If you bring the saddle back 
safe, they care but little what becomes of the horse. 
Mounted on our horses, which were spirited beasts, and 
which, by the way, in this country, are always steered by 
pressing the contrary rein against the neck, and not by 
pulling on the bit, — we started off on a fine run over the 
country. The first place we went to was the old ruinous 
presidio, which stands on a rising ground near the village, 
which it overlooks. It is built in the form of an open 
square, like all the other presidios, and was in a most ruin- 
ous state, with the exception of one side, in which the 
commandant lived, with his family. There were only two 
guns, one of which was spiked, and the other had no car- 
riage. Twelve, half clothed, and half starved looking 
fellows, composed the garrison ; and they, it was said, had 
not a musket apiece. The small settlement lay directly 
below the fort, composed of about forty dark brown look- 
ing huts, or houses, and two larger ones, plastered, which 
belonged to two of the " gente de razon." This town is not 
more than half as large as Monterey, or Santa Barbara, and 
has little or no business. From the presidio, we rode off 



TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 127 

in the direction of the mission, which we were told was three 
miles distant. The country was rather sand}^, and there 
was nothing for miles which could be called a tree, but the 
grass grew green and rank, and there were many bushes 
and thickets, and the soil is said to be good. After a pleas- 
ant ride of a couple of miles, we saw the white walls of the 
mission, and fording a small river, we came directly before 
it. The mission is built of mud, or rather of the unburnt 
bricks of the country, and plastered. There was something 
decidedly striking in its appearance : a number of irregular 
buildings, connected with one another, and disposed in the 
form of a hollow square, with a church at one end, rising 
above the rest, with a tower containing five belfries, in each 
of which hung a large bell, and with an immense rusty iron 
cross at the top. Just outside of the buildings, and under 
the walls, stood twenty or thirty small huts, built of straw 
and of the branches of trees, grouped together, in which a 
few Indians lived, under the protection and in the service 
of the mission. 

Entering a gate- way, we drove into the open square, in 
which the stillness of death reigned. On one side was the 
church ; on another, a range of high buildings with grated 
windows ; a third was a range of smaller buildings, or offices ; 
and the fourth seemed to be httle more than a high con- 
necting wall. Not a living creature could we see. We rode 
twice round the square, in the hope of waking up some one ; 
and in one circuit, saw a tall monk, with shaven head, 
sandals, and the dress of the Grey Friars, pass rapidly 
through a gallery, but he disappeared without noticing us. 
After two circuits, we stopped our horses, and saw, at last, 
a man show himself in front of one of the small buildings. 
We rode up to him, and found him dressed in the common 
dress of the country, with a silver chain round his neck, 
supporting a large bunch of keys. From this, we took him 
to be the steward of the mission, and addressing him as 
"Mayordomo," received a low bow and an invitation to 
walk into his room. Making our horses fast, we went in. 



128 TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 

It was a plain room, containing a table, three or four chairs, 
a small picture or two of some saint, or miracle, or martyr- 
dom, and a few dishes and glasses. "Hay algunas cosas 
a comer?" said I. "Si Senor ! " said he. "Que gusta 
usted ? " Mentioning frijoles, which I knew they must 
have if they had nothing else, and beef and bread, and a 
hint for wine, if they had any, he went off to another build- 
ing across the court, and returned in a few moments, with 
a couple of Indian boys, bearing dishes and a decanter 
of wine. The dishes contained baked meats, frijoles stewed 
with peppers and onions, boiled eggs, and California flour 
baked into a kind of macaroni. These, together with the 
wine, made the most sumptuous meal we had eaten since 
we left Boston ; and compared with the fare we had lived 
upon for seven months, it was a regal banquet. After 
despatching our meal, we took out some money and asked 
him how much we were to pay. He shook his head, and 
crossed himself, saying that it was charity : — that the Lord 
gave it to us. Knowing the amount of this to be that he 
did not sell, but was willing to receive a present, we gave 
him ten or twelve reals, which he pocketed with admirable 
nonchalance, saying, "Dios se lo pague." Taking leave 
of him, we rode out to the Indians' huts. The httle children 
were running about among the huts, stark naked, and the 
men were not much better ; but the women had generally 
coarse gowns, of a sort of tow cloth. The men are em- 
ployed, most of the time, in tending the cattle of the mission, 
and in working in the garden, which is a very large one, in- 
cluding several acres, and filled, it is said, with the best 
fruits of the climate. The language of these people, which 
is spoken by all the Indians of California, is the most brutish 
and inhuman language, without any exception, that I ever 
heard, or that could well be conceived of. It is a complete 
slabber. The words fall off of the ends of their tongues, 
and a continual slabbering sound is made in the cheeks, 
outside of the teeth. It cannot have been the language 
of Montezuma and the independent Mexicans. 



TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 129 

Here, among the huts, we saw the oldest man that I 
had ever seen ; and, indeed, I never supposed that a person 
could retain life and exhibit such marks of age. He was 
sitting out in the sun, leaning against the side of a hut; 
and his legs and arms, which were bare, were of a dark red 
color, the skin withered and shrunk up like burnt leather, 
and the limbs not larger round than those of a boy of five 
years. He had a few grey hairs, which were tied together 
at the back of his head; and he was so feeble that, when 
we came up to him, he raised his hands slowly to his face, 
and taking hold of his lids with his fingers, lifted them up 
to look at us; and being satisfied, let them drop again. 
All command over the lid seemed to have gone. I asked 
his age, but could get no answer but *'Quien sabe? " and 
they probably did not know the age. 

Leaving the mission, we returned to the village, going 
nearly all the way on a full run. The California horses have 
no medium gait, which is pleasant, between walking and 
running ; for as there are no streets and parades, they have 
no need of the genteel trot, and their riders usually keep 
them at the top of their speed until they are tired, and then 
let them rest themselves by walking. The fine air of the 
afternoon; the rapid rate of the animals, who seemed 
almost to fly over the ground; and the excitement and 
novelty of the motion to us, who had been so long confined 
on shipboard, were exhilarating beyond expression, and we 
felt willing to ride all day long. Coming into the village, 
we found things looking very lively. The Indians, who 
always have a holyday on Sunday, were engaged at playing 
a kind of rurming game of ball, on a level piece of ground, 
near the houses. The old ones sat down in a ring, looking 
on, while the young ones — men, boys, and girls — were 
chasing the ball, and throwing it '^ with all their might. 
Some of the girls ran like greyhounds. At every accident, 
or remarkable feat, the old people set up a deafening scream- 
ing and clapping of hands. Several blue jackets were reel- 
ing about among the houses, which showed that the pul- 



I30 TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 

perias had been well patronized. One or two of the sailors 
had got on horseback, but being rather indifferent horsemen, 
and the Spaniards having given them vicious horses, they 
were soon thrown, much to the amusement of the people. 
A half dozen Sandwich Islanders, from the hide-houses 
and the two brigs, who are bold riders, were dashing about 
on the full gallop, hallooing and laughing like so many wild 
men. 

It was now nearly sun-down, and S and myself went 

into a house and sat quietly down to rest ourselves before 
going down to the beach. Several people soon collected 
to see "los Ingles marineros," and one of them — a young 
woman — took a great fancy to my pocket handkerchief, 
which was a large silk one that I had before going to sea, 
and a handsomer one than they had been in the habit of 
seeing. Of course, I gave it to her ; which brought us into 
high favor ; and we had a present of some pears and other 
fruits, which we took down to the beach with us. When 
we came to leave the house, we found that our horses, which 
we left tied at the door, were both gone. We had paid for 
them to ride down to the beach, but they were not to be 
foxmd. We went to the man of whom we hired them, but 
he only shrugged his shoulders, and to our question, ^' Where 
are the horses ?" only answered — "Quien sabe ?" but as he 
was very easy, and made no inquiries for the saddles, we saw 
that he knew very well where they were. After a little 
trouble, determined not to walk down, — a distance of 
three miles, — we procured two, at four reals apiece, with 
an Indian boy to run on behind and bring them back. 
Determined to have "the go" out of the horses, for our 
trouble, we went down at full speed, and were on the beach 
in fifteen minutes. Wishing to make our liberty last as 
long as possible, we rode up and down among the hide- 
houses, amusing ourselves with seeing the men, as they came 
down (it was now dusk), some on horseback and others 
on foot. The Sandwich Islanders rode down, and were in 
"high snuff." We inquired for our shipmates, and were 



TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 131 

told that two of them had started on horseback and been 
thrown or had fallen off, and were seen heading for the 
beach, but steering pretty wild, and by the looks of things, 
would not be down much before midnight. 

The Indian boys having arrived, we gave them our horses, 
and having seen them safely off, hailed for a boat and went 
aboard. Thus ended our first liberty-day on shore. We 
were well tired, but had had a good time, and were more 
willing to go back to our old duties. About midnight, we 
were waked up by our two watch-mates, who had come 
aboard in high dispute. It seems they had started to come 
down on the same horse, double-backed; and each was 
accusing the other of being the cause of his fall. They soon, 
however, turned-in and fell asleep, and probably forgot all 
about it, for the next morning the dispute was not renewed. 



CHAPTER XVII 

The next sound that we heard was "All hands ahoy !" 
and looking up the scuttle, saw that it was just daylight. 
Our liberty had now truly taken flight, and with it we 
laid away our pumps, stockings, blue jackets, neckerchiefs, 
and other go-ashore paraphernalia, and putting on old duck 
trowsers, red shirts, and Scotch caps, began taking out and 
landing our hides. For three days we were hard at work, 
from the grey of the morning until starlight, with the ex- 
ception of a short time allowed for meals, in this duty. 
For landing and taking on board hides, San Diego is de- 
cidedly the best place in California. The harbor is small 
and land-locked ; there is no surf ; the vessels lie within 
a cable's length of the beach ; and the beach itself is smooth, 
hard sand, without rocks or stones. For these reasons, 
it is used by all the vessels in the trade, as a depot; and, 
indeed, it would be impossible, when loading with the cured 
hides for the passage home, to take them on board at any 
of the open ports, without getting them wet in the surf, 
which would spoil them. We took possession of one of the 
hide-houses, which belonged to our firm, and had been used 
by the California. It was built to hold forty thousand 
hides, and we had the pleasing prospect of filling it before 
we could leave the coast; and toward this, our thirty-five 
hundred, which we brought down with us, would do but 
little. There was not a man on board who did not go a 
dozen times into the house, and look round, and make 
some calculation of the time it would require. 

The hides, as they come rough and uncured from the 
vessels, are piled up outside of the houses, whence they are 
taken and carried through a regular process of pickling, 
drying, cleaning, etc., and stowed away in the house, ready 
to be put on board. This process is necessary in order that 

132 



TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 133 

they may keep, during a long voyage and in warm latitudes. 
For the purpose of curing and taking care of these hides, an 
officer and a part of the crew of each vessel are usually left 
ashore; and it was for this business, we found, that our 
new officer had joined us. As soon as the hides were landed, 
he took charge of the house, and the captain intended to 
leave two or three of us with him, hiring Sandwich Islanders 
to take our places on board ; but he could not get any Sand- 
wich Islanders to go, though he offered them fifteen dollars 
a month ; for the report of the flogging had got among them, 
and he was called "aole maikai " (no good), and that was 
an end of the business. They were, however, wilHng to 
work on shore, and four of them were hired and put with 
Mr. Russell to cure the hides. 

After landing our hides, we next sent ashore all our spare 
spars and rigging ; all the stores which we did not want to 
use in the course of one trip to windward; and, in fact, 
everything which we could spare, so as to make room for 
hides: among other things, the pig-sty, and with it "old 
Bess." This was an old sow that we had brought from 
Boston, and which lived to get round Cape Horn, where 
all the other pigs died from cold and wet. Report said that 
she had been a Canton voyage before. She had been the 
pet of the cook during the whole passage and he had fed 
her with the best of everything, and taught her to know 
his voice, and to do a number of strange tricks for his amuse- 
ment. Tom Cringle says that no one can fathom a negro's 
affection for a pig ; and I beUeve he is right, for it almost 
broke our poor darky's heart when he heard that Bess was 
to be taken ashore, and that he was to have the care of her 
no more during the whole voyage. He had depended upon 
her as a solace, during the long trips up and down the coast. 
"Obey orders, if you break owners!" said he. "Break 
hearts,^'' he meant to have said ; and lent a hand to get her 
over the side, trying to make it as easy for her as possible. 
We got a whip up on the main-yard, and hooking it to a 
strap round her body, swayed away; and giving a wink 



134 TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 

to one another, ran her chock up to the yard. " 'Vast there ! 
'vast ! " said the mate ; "none of your skylarking ! Lower 
away ! " But he evidently enjoyed the joke. The pig 
squealed like the "crack of doom," and tears stood in the 
poor darky's eyes ; and he muttered something about hav- 
ing no pity on a dumb beast. ^^ Dumb beast !" said Jack; 
"if she's what you call a dumb beast, then my eyes a'n't 
mates." This produced a laugh from all but the cook. He 
was too intent upon seeing her safe in the boat. He watched 
her all the way ashore, where, upon her landing, she was 
received by a whole troop of her kind, who had been set 
ashore from the other vessels, and had multiplied and formed 
a large commonwealth. From the door of his galley, the 
cook used to watch them in their manoeuvres, setting up a 
shout and clapping his hands whenever Bess came off vic- 
torious in the struggles for pieces of raw hide and half- 
picked bones which were lying about the beach. During 
the day, he saved all the nice things, and made a bucket of 
swill, and asked us to take it ashore in the gig, and looked 
quite disconcerted when the mate told him that he would 
pitch the swill overboard, and him after it, if he saw any of 
it go into the boats. We told him that he thought more 
about the pig than he did about his wife, who lived down in 
Robinson's Alley; and, indeed, he could hardly have been 
more attentive, for he actually, on several nights, after 
dark, when he thought he would not be seen, sculled himself 
ashore in a boat with a bucket of nice swill, and returned 
like Leander from crossing the Hellespont. 

The next Sunday the other half of our crew went ashore 
on liberty, and left us on board, to enjoy the first quiet 
Sunday which we had had upon the coast. Here were 
no hides to come off, and no south-easters to fear. We 
washed and mended our clothes in the morning, and spent 
the rest of the day in reading and writing. Several of us 
wrote letters to send home by the Lagoda. At twelve 
o'clock the Ayacucho dropped her fore topsail, which was a 
signal for her sailing. She unmoored and warped down into 



TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 135 

the bight, from which she got under weigh. During this 
operation, her crew were a long time heaving at the windlass, 
and I listened for nearly an hour to the musical notes of a 
Sandwich Islander, called Mahannah, who ''sang out" for 
them. Sailors, when heaving at a windlass, in order that 
they may heave together, always have one to sing out; 
which is done in a peculiar, high and long-drawn note, vary- 
ing with the motion of the windlass. This requires a high 
voice, strong lungs, and much practice, to be done well. 
This fellow had a very peculiar, wild sort of note, breaking 
occasionally into a falsetto. The sailors thought that it 
was too high, and not enough of the boatswain hoarseness 
about it ; but to me it had a great charm. The harbor was 
perfectly still, and his voice rang among the hills, as though 
it could have been heard for miles. Toward sun-down, a 
good breeze having sprung up, she got under weigh, and 
with her long, sharp head cutting elegantly through the 
water, on a taught bowline, she stood directly out of the 
harbor, and bore away to the southward. She was bound 
to Callao, and thence to the Sandwich Islands, and expected 
to be on the coast again in eight or ten months. 
At the close of the week we were ready to sail, but were 

delayed a day or two by the running away of F , the 

man who had been our second mate, and was turned for- 
ward. From the time that he was " broken," he had a dog's 
berth on board the vessel, and determined to run away at 
the first opportunity. Having shipped for an officer when 
he was not half a seaman, he found little pity with the crew, 
and was not man enough to hold his ground among them. 
The captain called him a "soger," ^ and promised to "ride 

* Soger (soldier) is the worst term of reproach that can be applied to a 
sailor. It signifies a skulk, a sherk, — one who is always trying to get clear 
of work, and is out of the way, or hanging back, when duty is to be done. 
" Marine " is the term applied more particularly to a man who is ignorant 
and clumsy about seaman's work — a green-horn — a land-lubber. To 
make a sailor shoulder a handspike, and walk fore and aft the deck, like a 
sentry, is the most ignominious punishment that could be put upon him. 
Such a punishment inflicted upon an able seaman in a vessel of war, would 
break his spirit down more than a flogging. 



136 TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 

him down as he would the main tack" ; and when oflScers 
are once determined to "ride a man down," it is a gone case 
with him. He had had several difficulties with the captain, 
and asked leave to go home in the Lagoda; but this was re- 
fused him. One night he was insolent to an officer on the 
beach, and refused to come aboard in the boat. He was 
reported to the captain ; and, as he came aboard, — it 
being past the proper hour, — he was called aft, and told 
that he was to have a flogging. Im_mediately, he fell 
down on deck, calling out — "Don't flog me, Captain 

T ; don't flog me ! " and the captain, angry with him, 

and disgusted with his cowardice, gave him a few blows over 
the back with a rope's end and sent him forward. He was 
not much hurt, but a good deal frightened, and made up 
his mind to run away that very night. This was managed 
better than anything he ever did in his life, and seemed 
really to show some spirit and forethought. He gave his 
bedding and mattress to one of the Lagoda^s crew, who took 
it aboard his vessel as something which he had bought, 
and promised to keep it for him. He then unpacked his 
chest, putting all his valuable clothes into a large canvas 
bag, and told one of us, who had the watch, to call him at 
midnight. Coming on deck at midnight, and finding no 
officer on deck, and all still aft, he lowered his bag into a 
boat, got softly down into it, cast off the painter, and let 
it drop down silently with the tide until he was out of 
hearing, when he sculled ashore. 

The next morning, when all hands were mustered, there 

was a great stir to find F . Of course, we would tell 

nothing, and all they could discover was, that he had left 
an empty chest behind him, and that he went off in a boat ; 
for they saw it lying up high and dry on the beach. After 
breakfast, the captain went up to the town, and offered a re- 
ward of twenty dollars for him ; and for a couple of days the 
soldiers, Indians, and all others who had nothing to do, were 
scouring the country for him, on horseback, but without 
effect ; for he was safely concealed, all the time, within fifty 



TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 137 

rods of the hide-houses. As soon as he had landed, he went 
directly to the Lagoda's hide-house, and a part of her 
crew, who were living there on shore, promised to conceal 
him and his traps until the Pilgrim should sail, and then 
to intercede with Captain Bradshaw to take him on board 
the ship. Just behind the hide-houses, among the thickets 
and underwood, was a small cave, the entrance to which 
was known only to two men on the beach, and which was 
so well concealed that, though, when I afterwards came to 
live on shore, it was shown to me two or three times, I was 
never able to find it alone. To this cave he was carried 
before daybreak in the morning, and supplied with bread 
and water, and there remained until he saw us under weigh 
and well round the point. 

Friday, March 2ph. The captain having given up all 

hope of finding F , and being unwilling to delay any 

longer, gave orders for unmooring ship, and we made sail, 
dropping slowly down with the tide and light wind. We 
left letters with Captain Bradshaw to take to Boston, and 
had the satisfaction of hearing him say that he should be 
back again before we left the coast. The wind, which was 
very light, died away soon after we doubled the point, and 
we lay becalmed for two days, not moving three miles the 
whole time, and a part of the second day were almost 
within sight of the vessels. On the third day, about noon, 
a cool sea-breeze came rippling and darkening the surface 
of the water, and by sun-down we were off St. Juan's, which 
is about forty miles from San Diego, and is called halfway 
to San Pedro, where we were now bound. Our crew was 
now considerably weakened. One man we had lost over- 
board ; another had been taken aft as clerk ; and a third had 

run away ; so that, beside S and myself, there were only 

three able seamen and one boy of twelve years of age. 
With this diminished and discontented crew, and in a small 
vessel, we were now to battle the watch through a couple 
of years of hard service ; yet there was not one who was not 
glad that F had escaped; for, shiftless and good for 



138 TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 

nothing as he was, no one could wish to see him dragging on 
a miserable Hfe, cowed down and disheartened ; and we were 
all rejoiced to hear, upon our return to San Diego, about 
two months afterwards, that he had been immediately taken 
aboard the Lagoda, and went home in her, on regular sea- 
man's wages. 

After a slow passage of five days, we arrived, one Wednes- 
day, the first of April, at our old anchoring ground at San 
Pedro. The bay was as deserted, and looked as dreary, 
as before, and formed no pleasing contrast with the security 
and snugness of San Diego, and the activity and interest 
which the loading and unloading of four vessels gave to 
that scene. In a few days the hides began to come slowly 
down, and we got into the old business of rolling goods up 
the hill, pitching hides down, and pulling our long league 
off and on. Nothing of note occurred while we were lying 
here, except that an attempt was made to repair the small 
Mexican brig which had been cast away in a south-easter, 
and which now lay up, high and dry, over one reef of rocks 
and two sandbanks. Our carpenter surveyed her, and pro- 
nounced her capable of refitting, and in a few days the 
owners came down from the Pueblo, and waiting for the 
high spring tides, with the help of our cables, kedges, and 
crew, got her off and afloat, after several trials. The three 
men at the house on shore, who had formerly been a part of 
her crew, now joined her, and seemed glad enough at the 
prospect of getting off the coast. 

On board our own vessel, things went on in the common 
monotonous way. The excitement which immediately 
followed the flogging scene had passed off, but the effect 
of it upon the crew, and especially upon the two men them- 
selves, remained. The different manner in which these men 
were affected, corresponding to their different characters, 
was not a little remarkable. John was a foreigner and high- 
tempered, and though mortified, as any one would beat having 
had the worst of an encounter, yet his chief feeling seemed 
to be anger ; and he talked much of satisfaction and revenge, 



TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 139 

if he ever got back to Boston. But with the other, it was 
very different. He was an American, and had had some 
education ; and this thing coming upon him, seemed com- 
pletely to break him down. He had a feeling of the deg- 
radation that had been inflicted upon him, which the other 
man was incapable of. Before that, he had a good deal of 
fun, and amused us often with queer negro stories, — (he 
was from a slave state) ; but afterwards he seldom smiled ; 
seemed to lose all life and elasticity ; and appeared to have 
but one wish, and that was for the voyage to be at an end. 
I have often known him to draw a long sigh when he was 
alone, and he took but little part or interest in John's plans 
of satisfaction and retaliation. 

After a stay of about a fortnight, during which we slipped 
for one south-easter, and were at sea two days, we got under 
weigh for Santa Barbara. It was now the middle of April, 
and the south-easter season was nearly over ; and the light, 
regular trade-winds, which blow down the coast, began to 
set steadily in, during the latter part of each day. Against 
these, we beat slowly up to Santa Barbara — a distance of 
about ninety miles — in three days. There we found, lying 
at anchor, the large Genoese ship which we saw in the same 
place, on the first day of our coming upon the coast. She 
had been up to San Francisco, or, as it is called, "chock up 
to windward," had stopped at Monterey on her way down, 
and was shortly to proceed to San Pedro and San Diego, 
and thence, taking in her cargo, to sail for Valparaiso and 
Cadiz. She was a large, clumsy ship, and with her top- 
masts stayed forward, and high poop-deck, looked like 
an old woman with a crippled back. It was now the close 
of Lent, and on Good Friday she had all her yards a'-cock- 
bill, which is customary among Catholic vessels. Some 
also have an effigy of Judas, which the crew amuse them- 
selves with keel-hauling and hanging by the neck from the 
yard-arms. 



CHAPTER XVIII 

The next Sunday was Easter Sunday, and as there had 
been no liberty at San Pedro, it was our turn to go ashore 
and misspend another Sabbath. Soon after breakfast, 
a large boat, filled with men in blue jackets, scarlet caps, 
and various colored under-clothes, bound ashore on liberty, 
left the Italian ship, and passed under our stern ; the men 
singing beautiful Italian boat-songs, all the way, in fine, 
full chorus. Among the songs I recognized the favorite 
"O Pescator dell' onda." It brought back to my mind 
piano-fortes, drawing-rooms, young ladies singing, and a 
thousand other things which as little befitted me, in my sit- 
uation , to be thinking upon. Supposing that the whole day 
would be too long a time to spend ashore, as there was no 
place to which we could take a ride, we remained quietly 
on board until after dinner. We were then pulled ashore 
in the stern of the boat, and, with orders to be on the beach 
at sun-down, we took our way for the town. There, every- 
thing wore the appearance of a holyday. The people were 
all dressed in their best; the men riding about on horse- 
back among the houses, and the women sitting on carpets 
before the doors. Under the piazza of a *'pulperia," two 
men were seated, decked out with knots of ribands and bou- 
quets, and playing the violin and the Spanish guitar. These 
are the only instruments, with the exception of the drums 
and trumpets at Monterey, that I ever heard in California ; 
and I suspect they play upon no others, for at a great 
fandango at which I was afterwards present, and where they 
mustered all the music they could find, there were three 
violins and two guitars, and no other instruments. As it 
was now too near the middle of the day to see any dancing, 
and hearing that a bull was expected down from the country, 

140 



TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 141 

to be baited in the presidio square, in the course of an hour 
or two, we took a stroll among the houses. Inquiring for 
an American who, we had been told, had married in the 
place, and kept a shop, we were directed to a long, low 
building, at the end of which was a door, with a sign over it, 
in Spanish. Entering the shop, we found no one in it, and 
the whole had an empty, deserted appearance. In a few 
minutes the man made his appearance, and apologized for 
having nothing to entertain us with, saying that he had had 
a fandango at his house the night before, and the people had 
eaten and drunk up everything. 

"Oh yes ! " said I, "Easter holydays ! " 

"No !" said he, with a singular expression to his face; 
"I had a httle daughter die the other day, and that's the 
custom of the country." 

Here I felt a little strangely, not knowing what to say, 
or whether to offer consolation or no, and was beginning 
to retire, when he opened a side door and told us to walk in. 
Here I was no less astonished ; for I found a large room, 
filled with young girls, from three or four years of age up to 
fifteen and sixteen, dressed all in white, with wreaths of 
flowers on their heads, and bouquets in their hands. Fol- 
lowing our conductor through all these girls, who were 
playing about in high spirits, we came to a table, at the end 
of the room, covered with a white cloth, on which lay a 
coffin, about three feet long, with the body of his child. 
The coffin was lined on the outside with white cloth, and on 
the inside with white satin, and was strewed with flowers. 
Through an open door we saw, in another room, a few 
elderly people in common dresses ; while the benches and 
tables thrown up in a corner, and the stained walls, gave 
evident signs of the last night's "high go." Feeling, like 
Garrick, between tragedy and comedy, an uncertainty of 
purpose and a little awkwardness, I asked the man when 
the funeral would take place, and being told that it would 
move toward the mission in about an hour, took my leave. 

To pass away the time, we took horses and rode down 



142 TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 

to the beach, and there found three or four Italian sailors, 
mounted, and riding up and down, on the hard sand, at a 
furious rate. We joined them, and found it fine sport. 
The beach gave us a stretch of a mile or more, and the horses 
flew over the smooth, hard sand, apparently invigorated 
and excited by the salt sea-breeze, and by the continual 
roar and dashing of the breakers. From the beach we re- 
turned to the town, and finding that the funeral procession 
had moved, rode on and overtook it, about halfway to the 
mission. Here was as peculiar a sight as we had seen before 
in the house ; the one looking as much like a funeral pro- 
cession as the other did like a house of mourning. The 
little coffin was borne by eight girls, who were continually 
relieved by others, running forward from the procession 
and taking their places. Behind it came a straggling 
company of girls, dressed as before, in white and flowers, 
and including, I should suppose by their numbers, nearly 
all the girls between five and fifteen in the place. They 
played along on the way, frequently stopping and running 
all together to talk to some one, or to pick up a flower, and 
then running on again to overtake the coffin. There were a 
few elderly women in common colors ; and a herd of young 
men and boys, some on foot and others mounted, followed 
them, or walked or rode by their side, frequently interrupt- 
ing them by jokes and questions. But the most singular 
thing of all was, that two men walked, one on each side of 
the coffin, carrying muskets in their hands, which they 
continually loaded, and fired into the air. Whether this 
was to keep off the evil spirits or not, I do not know. It 
was the only interpretation that I could put upon it. 

As we drew near the mission, we saw the great gate 
thrown open, and the padre standing on the steps, with a 
crucifix in hand. The mission is a large and deserted- 
looking place, the out-buildings going to ruin, and every- 
thing giving one the impression of decayed grandeur. A 
large stone fountain threw out pure water, from four mouths, 
into a basin, before the church door ; and we were on the 



TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 143 

point of riding up to let our horses drink, when it occurred 
to us that it might be consecrated, and we forbore. Just 
at this moment, the bells set up their harsh, discordant 
clang; and the procession moved into the court. I was 
anxious to follow, and see the ceremony, but the horse of 
one of my companions had become frightened, and was 
tearing off toward the town ; and having thrown his rider, 
and got one of his feet caught in the saddle, which had 
slipped, was fast dragging and ripping it to pieces. Know- 
ing that my shipmate could not speak a word of Spanish, 
and fearing that he would get into difficulty, I was obliged 
to leave the ceremony and ride after him. I soon overtook 
him, trudging along, swearing at the horse, and carrying the 
remains of the saddle, which he had picked up on the road. 
Going to the owner of the horse, we made a settlement with 
him, and found him surprisingly liberal. All parts of the 
saddle were brought back, and being capable of repair, he 
was satisfied with six reals. We thought it would have been 
a few dollars. We pointed to the horse, which was now 
halfway up one of the mountains ; but he shook his head, 
saying, "No importe !" and giving us to understand that 
he had plenty more. 

Having returned to the town, we saw a great crowd 
collected in the square before the principal pulperia, and 
riding up, found that all these people — men, women, and 
children — had been drawn together by a couple of bantam 
cocks. The cocks were in full tilt, springing into one an- 
other, and the people were as eager, laughing and shouting, 
as though the combatants had been men. There had been 
a disappointment about the bull ; he had broken his bail, 
and taken himself off, and it was too late to get another; 
so the people were obliged to put up with a cock-fight. 
One of the bantams having been knocked in the head, and 
had an eye put out, he gave in, and two monstrous prize- 
cocks were brought on. These were the object of the whole 
affair ; the two bantams having been merely served up as 
a first course, to collect the people together. Two fellows 



144 TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 

came into the ring holding the cocks in their arms, and 
stroking them, and running about on all fours, encouraging 
and setting them on. Bets ran high, and, like most other 
contests, it remained for some time undecided. They both 
showed great pluck, and fought probably better and longer 
than their masters would. Whether, in the end, it was 
the white or the red that beat, I do not recollect ; but which- 
ever it was, he strutted off with the true veni-vidi-vici look, 
leaving the other lying panting on his beam-ends. 

This matter having been settled, we heard some talk 
about "caballos" and ''carrera" and seeing the people all 
streaming off in one direction, we followed, and came upon 
a level piece of ground, just out of the town, which was used 
as a race-course. Here the crowd soon became thick again, 
the ground was marked off ; the judges stationed ; and the 
horses led up to one end. Two fine-looking old gentle- 
men — Don Carlos and Don Domingo, so called — held the 
stakes, and all was now ready. We waited some time, dur- 
ing which we could just see the horses twisting round and 
turning, until, at length, there was a shout along the lines, 
and on they came — heads stretched out and eyes starting ; 
— working all over, both man and beast. The steeds came 
by us like a couple of chain-shot — neck and neck ; and now 
we could see nothing but their backs, and their hind hoofs 
flying in the air. As fast as the horses passed, the crowd 
broke up behind them, and ran to the goal. When we got 
there, we found the horses returning on a slow walk, having 
run far beyond the mark, and heard that the long, bony one 
had come in head and shoulders before the other. The 
riders were light-built men ; had handkerchiefs tied round 
their heads ; and were bare-armed and bare-legged. The 
horses were noble-looking beasts, not so sleek and combed 
as our Boston stable horses, but with fine limbs and spirited 
eyes. After this had been settled, and fully talked over, 
the crowd scattered again and flocked back to the town. 

Returning to the large pulperia, we found the violin and 
guitar screaming and twanging away under the piazza, 



TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 145 

where they had been all day. As it was now sun-down, there 
began to be some dancing. The Itahan sailors danced, and 
one of our crew exhibited himself in a sort of West India 
shuffle, much to the amusement of the bystanders, who 
cried out, "Bravo!" "Otravez!" and ",Vivan los mari- 
neros ! " but the dancing did not become general, as the 
women and the "gente de razon" had not yet made their 
appearance. We wished very much to stay and see the style 
of dancing ; but, although we had had our own way during 
the day, yet we were, after all, but 'foremast Jacks; and 
having been ordered to be on the beach by sun-down, did 
not venture to be more than an hour behind the time ; so 
we took our way down. We found the boat just pulling 
ashore through the breakers, which were running high, 
there having been a heavy fog outside, which, from some 
cause or other, always brings on or precedes a heavy sea. 
Liberty-men are privileged from the time they leave the 
vessel imtil they step on board again ; so we took our places 
in the stern sheets, and were congratulating ourselves upon 
getting off dry, when a great comber broke fore and aft the 
boat, and wet us through and through, filling the boat half 
full of water. Having lost her buoyancy by the weight of 
the water, she dropped heavily into every sea that struck 
her, and by the time we had pulled out of the surf into deep 
water, she was but just afloat, and we were up to our knees. 
By the help of a small bucket and our hats, we bailed her 
out, got on board, hoisted the boats, eat our supper, changed 
our clothes, gave (as is usual) the whole history of our day's 
adventures to those who had staid on board, and having 
taken a night-smoke, turned-in. Thus ended our second 
day's liberty on shore. 

On Monday morning, as an offset to our day's sport, we 
were all set to work "tarring down" the rigging. Some got 
girt-lines up for riding down the stays and back-stays, 
and others tarred the shrouds, lifts, etc., laying out on the 
yards, and coming down the rigging. We overhauled our 
bags and took out our old tarry trowsers and frocks, which 



146 TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 

we had used when we tarred down before, and were all at 
work in the rigging by sun-rise. After breakfast, we had 
the satisfaction of seeing the Italian ship's boat go ashore, 
filled with men, gaily dressed, as on the day before, and 
singing their barcarollas. The Easter holydays are kept 
up on shore during three days ; and being a Catholic vessel, 
the crew had the advantage of them. For two successive 
days, while perched up in the rigging, covered with tar and 
engaged in our disagreeable work, we saw these fellows go- 
ing ashore in the morning, and coming off again at night, in 
high spirits. So much for being Protestants. There's no 
danger of Catholicism's spreading in New England; Yan- 
kees can't afford the time to be Catholics. American ship- 
masters get nearly three weeks more labor out of their 
crews, in the course of a year, than the masters of vessels 
from Catholic countries. Yankees don't keep Christmas, 
and ship-masters at sea never know when Thanksgiving 
comes, so Jack has no festival at all. 

About noon, a man aloft called out "Sail ho !" and look- 
ing round, we saw the head sails of a vessel coming round the 
point. As she drew round, she showed the broadside of a 
full-rigged brig, with the Yankee ensign at her peak. We 
ran up our stars and stripes, and knowing that there was 
no American brig on the coast but ourselves, expected to 
have news from home. She rounded-to and let go her 
anchor, but the dark faces on her yards, when they furled 
the sails, and the Babel on deck, soon made known that she 
was from the Islands. Immediately afterwards, a boat's 
crew came aboard, bringing her skipper, and from them 
we learned that she was from Oahu, and was engaged in the 
same trade with the Ayacucho, Loriotte, etc., between the 
coast, the Sandwich Islands, and the leeward coast of Peru 
and Chili. Her captain and officers were Americans, and 
also a part of her crew ; the rest were Islanders. She was 
called the Catalina, and, like all the other vessels in that 
trade, except the Ayacucho, her papers and colors were 
from Uncle Sam. They, of course, brought us no news, and 



TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 147 

we were doubly disappointed, for we had thought, at first, it 
might be the ship which we were expecting from Boston. 

After lying here about a fortnight, and collecting all the 
hides the place afforded, we set sail again for San Pedro. 
There we found the brig which we had assisted in getting off, 
lying at anchor, with a mixed crew of Americans, English, 
Sandwich Islanders, Spaniards, and Spanish Indians; and 
though much smaller than we, yet she had three times the 
number of men ; and she needed them, for her officers were 
Californians. No vessels in the world go so poorly manned 
as American and English ; and none do so well. A Yankee 
brig of that size would have had a crew of four men, and 
would have worked round and round her. The Italian ship 
had a crew of thirty men ; nearly three times as many as the 
Alert, which was afterwards on the coast, and was of the 
same size ; yet the Alert would get under weigh and come-to 
in half the time, and get two anchors, while they were all 
talking at once — jabbering like a parcel of "Yahoos," 
and running about decks to find their cat-block. 

There was only one point in which they had the advan- 
tage over us, and that was in lightening their labors in the 
boats by their songs. The Americans are a time and money 
saving people, but have not yet, as a nation, learned that 
music may be " turned to account." We pulled the long dis- 
tances to and from the shore, with our loaded boats, without 
a word spoken, and with discontented looks, while they not 
only lightened the labor of rowing, but actually made it 
pleasant and cheerful, by their music. So true is it, that — 

" For the tired slave, song lifts the languid oar, 

And bids it aptly fall, with chime 
That beautifies the fairest shore, 

And mitigates the harshest clime." 

We lay about a week in San Pedro, and got under weigh 
for San Diego, intending to stop at San Juan, as the south- 
easter season was nearly over, and there was little or no 
danger. 



148 TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 

This being the spring season, San Pedro, as well as all 
the other open ports upon the coast, was filled with whales, 
that had come in to make their annual visit upon soundings. 
For the first few days that we were here and at Santa Bar- 
bara, we watched them with great interest — calHng out 
"there she blows!" every time we saw the spout of one 
breaking the surface of the water ; but they soon became so 
common that we took little notice of them. They often 
"broke "very near us, and one thick, foggy night, during a 
dead calm, while I was standing anchor-watch, one of them 
rose so near, that he struck our cable, and made all surge 
again. He did not seem to like the encounter much himself, 
for he sheered off, and spouted at a good distance. We 
once came very near running one down in the gig, and should 
probably have been knocked to pieces and blown sky-high. 
We had been on board the little Spanish brig, and were 
returning, stretching out well at our oars, the little boat 
going like a swallow ; our backs were forward (as is always 
the case in pulling), and the captain, who was steering, was 
not looking ahead, when, all at once, we heard the spout of 
a whale directly ahead. "Back water! back water, for 
your lives ! " shouted the captain ; and we backed our 
blades in the water and brought the boat to in a smother of 
foam. Turning our heads, we saw a great, rough, hump- 
backed whale, slowly crossing our fore foot, within three or 
four yards of the boat's stem. Had we not backed water 
just as we did, we should inevitably have gone smash upon 
him, striking him with our stem just about amidships. He 
took no notice of us, but passed slowly on, and dived a few 
yards beyond us, throwing his tail high in the air. He 
was so near that we had a perfect view of him, and, as may 
be supposed, had no desire to see him nearer. He was a 
disgusting creature ; with a skin rough, hairy, and of an iron- 
grey color. This kind differs much from the sperm, in color 
and skin, and is said to be fiercer. We saw a few sperm 
whales ; but most of the whales that come upon the coast 
are fin-backs, hump-backs, and right-whales, which are more 




HE DIVED, THROWING HIS TAIL HIGH IN 
THE AIR 



TWO YEARS BEFOK 



This beiri: 
the other op; 
that had con 
For the f-' •' 
bara, wc 



jpon the coa 
their ar. 



liing ou 

J I of CD' 

jecame S" 
hey often 

during v-. 

? of them 



-' u: - ume '■ 

■>.:,. :e water . 

v.): :;: ttle not;^ 

■ [y A one thiv., 

.If ao landing ancL 

3ur cahr ■^'' 

•e the eii . 

ted at a gc 

me down in ^ 

Lo pieces an. 
.he little Spanish brig,', 
„. well at our oars, the I 

■ g), and the 05^ J(!&Ii3H^o """"'"'■ ' 
d, when, all at once, we 
a whaie directly ahead. "Baci -^ 

your lives!" shoute^' '^~- ^^ ~ -'^ 

blades in the water a 
foam. Tur~ ' 
backed wha 
'■■\r yards of the bo 
t as we did, we si 
' - striking him wi 
notice </' 
eyond u,, - - 
ear that we had 
' 'id no desi! 



; lid ship'; 

, .■ vii, and dived 
high in the aii 
: view of him, and, a 
Lu bee him nearer. "^"^ 



!-e ; with a skin rough, hairy, and 
■;d differs much fr 

. ! fo he. fieroer. 



TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 149 

difficult to take, and are said not to give oil enough to pay 
for the trouble. For this reason, whale-ships do not come 
upon the coast after them. Our captain, together with 
Captain Nye of the Loriotte, who had been in a whale-ship, 
thought of making an attempt upon one of them with two 
boats' crews, but as we had only two harpoons and no proper 
lines, they gave it up. 

During the months of March, April, and May, these 
whales appear in great numbers in the open ports of Santa 
Barbara, San Pedro, etc., and hover off the coast, while a 
few find their way into the close harbors of San Diego and 
Monterey. They are all off again before midsummer, and 
make their appearance on the "off-shore ground." We 
saw some fine "schools" of sperm whales, which are easily 
distinguished by their spout, blowing away, a few miles 
to windward, on our passage to San Juan. 

Coasting along on the quiet shore of the Pacific, we came 
to anchor, in twenty fathoms' water, almost out at sea, as it 
were, and directly abreast of a steep hill which overhung 
the water, and was twice as high as our royal-mast-head. 
We had heard much of this place from the Lagoda's crew, 
who said it was the worst place in California. The shore is 
rocky, and directly exposed to the south-east, so that ves- 
sels are obliged to slip and run for their lives on the first sign 
of a gale ; and late as it was in the season, we got up our 
slip-rope and gear, though we meant to stay only twenty- 
four hours. We pulled the agent ashore, and were ordered 
to wait for him, while he took a circuitous way round the 
hill to the mission, which was hidden behind it. We were 
glad of the opportunity to examine this singular place, and 
hauling the boat up and making her well fast, took different 
directions up and down the beach, to explore it. 

San Juan is the only romantic spot in California. The 
country here for several miles is high table-land, running 
boldly to the shore, and breaking off in a steep hill, at the 
foot of which the waters of the Pacific are constantly dash- 
ing. For several miles the water washes the very base of 




I50 TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 

the hill, or breaks upon ledges and fragments of rocks which 
run out into the sea. Just where we landed was a small 
cove, or "bight," which gave us, at high tide, a few square 
feet of sand-beach between the sea and the bottom of the 
hill. This was the only landing-place. Directly before 
us, rose the perpendicular height of four or five hundred 
feet. How we were to get hides down, or goods up, upon 
the table-land on which the mission was situated, was more 
than we could tell. The agent had taken a long circuit, and 
yet had frequently to jump over breaks, and climb up steep 
places, in the ascent. No animal but a man or a monkey 
could get up it. However, that was not our look-out ; and 
knowing that the agent would be gone an hour or more, we 
strolled about, picking up shells, and following the sea 
where it tumbled in, roaring and spouting, among the crev- 
ices of the great rocks. What a sight, thought I, must this 
be in a south-easter ! The rocks were as large as those of 
Nahant or Newport, but, to my eye, more grand and broken. 
Beside, there was a grandeur in everything around, which 
gave almost a solemnity to the scene : a silence and solitari- 
ness which affected everything ! Not a human being but 
ourselves for miles ; and no sound heard but the pulsations 
of the great Pacific ! and the great steep hill rising like a 
wall, and cutting us off from all the world, but the "world 
of waters ! " I separated myself from the rest, and sat down 
on a rock, just where the sea ran in and formed a fine spout- 
ing horn. Compared with the plain, dull sand-beach of the 
rest of the coast, this grandeur was as refreshing as a great 
rock in a weary land. It was almost the first time that I 
had been positively alone — free from the sense that human 
beings were at my elbow, if not talking with me — since 
I had left home. My better nature returned strong upon 
me. Everything was in accordance with my state of feel- 
ing, and I experienced a glow of pleasure at finding that 
what of poetry and romance I ever had in me, had not been 
entirely deadened by the laborious and frittering life I had 
led. Nearly an hour did I sit, almost lost in the luxury of 



TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 151 

this entire new scene of the play in which I had been so long 
acting, when I was aroused by the distant shouts of my 
companions, and saw that they were collecting together, as 
the agent had made his appearance, on his way back to our 
boat. 

We pulled aboard, and found the long-boat hoisted out, 
and nearly laden with goods ; and after dinner, we all went 
on shore in the quarter-boat, with the long-boat in tow. 
As we drew in, we found an ox-cart and a couple of men 
standing directly on the brow of the hill ; and having landed, 
the captain took his way round the hill, ordering me and 
one other to follow him. We followed, picking our way out, 
and jumping and scrambling up, walking over briers and 
prickly pears, until we came to the top. Here the country 
stretched out for miles, as far as the eye could reach, on a 
level, table surface ; and the only habitation in sight was the 
small white mission of San Juan Campestrano, with a few 
Indian huts about it, standing in a small hollow, about a mile 
from where we were. Reaching the brow of the hill where the 
cart stood, we found several piles of hides, and Indians sit- 
ting round them. One or two other carts were coming 
slowly on from the mission, and the captain told us to begin 
and throw the hides down. This, then, was the way they 
were to be got down : thrown down, one at a time, a dis- 
tance of four hundred feet ! This was doing the business 
on a great scale. Standing on the edge of the hill and look- 
ing down the perpendicular height, the sailors, 

" That walked upon the beach, 

Appeared like mice; and our tall anchoring bark 
Diminished to her cock; her cock a buoy 
Almost too small for sight." 

Down this height we pitched the hides, throwing them 
as far out into the air as we could; and as they were all 
large, stiff, and doubled, hke the cover of a book, the wind 
took them, and they swayed and eddied about, plunging 
and rising in the air, like a kite when it has broken its string. 



152 TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 

As it was now low tide, there was no danger of their falling 
into the water, and as fast as they came to groimd, the men 
below picked them up, and taking them on their heads, 
walked off with them to the boat. It was really a pic- 
turesque sight : the great height ; the scaling of the hides ; 
and the continual walking to and fro of the men, who looked 
like mites, on the beach ! This was the romance of high- 
droghing ! 

Some of the hides lodged in cavities which were under the 
bank and out of our sight, being directly under us ; but by 
sending others down in the same direction, we succeeded in 
dislodging them. Had they remained there, the captain 
said he should have sent on board for a couple of pair of long 
halyards, and got some one to have gone down for them. 
It was said that one of the crew of an English brig went 
down in the same way, a few years before. We looked over, 
and thought it would not be a welcome task, especially for a 
few paltry hides ; but no one knows what he can do imtil he 
is called upon ; for, six months afterwards, I went down the 
same place by a pair of top-gallant studding-sail halyards, 
to save a half a dozen hides which had lodged there. 

Having thrown them all down, we took our way back 
again, and found the boat loaded and ready to start. We 
pulled ofif ; took the hides all aboard ; hoisted in the boats ; 
hove up our anchor ; made sail ; and before sun-down, were 
on our way to San Diego. 

Friday, May Sth, 1835. Arrived at San Diego. Here 
we found the little harbor deserted. The Lagoda, Aya- 
cucho, Loriotte, and all, had left the coast, and we were 
nearly alone. All the hide-houses on the beach, but ours, 
were shut up, and the Sandwich Islanders, a dozen or twenty 
in number, who had worked for the other vessels and 
been paid off when they sailed, were living on the beach, 
keeping up a grand carnival. A Russian discovery-ship, 
which had been in this port a few years before, had built 
a large oven for baking bread, and went away, leaving it ;| 
standing. This, the Sandwich Islanders took possession of, 



TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 153 

and had kept, ever since, undisturbed. It was big enough 
to hold six or eight men — that is, it was as large as a ship's 
forecastle ; had a door at the side, and a vent-hole at top. 
They covered it with Oahu mats, for a carpet ; stopped up 
the vent-hole in bad weather, and made .it their head- 
quarters. It was now inhabited by as many as a dozen 
or twenty men, who lived there in complete idleness — 
drinking, playing cards, and carousing in every way. They 
bought a bullock once a week, which kept them in meat, 
and one of them went up to the town every day to get 
fruit, liquor, and provisions. Besides this, they had bought 
a cask of ship-bread, and a barrel of flour from the La- 
goda, before she sailed. There they lived, having a grand 

time, and caring for nobody. Captain T was anxious 

to get three or four of them to come on board the Pilgrim, 
as we were so much diminished in numbers ; and went up 
to the oven, and spent an hour or two trying to negotiate 
with them. One of them, — a finely built, active, strong 
and intelligent fellow, — who was a sort of king among 
them, acted as spokesman. He was called Mannini, — or 
rather, out of compliment to his known importance and 
influence, Mr. Mannini, — and was known all over Cali- 
fornia. Through him, the captain offered them fifteen 
dollars a month, and one month's pay in advance; but it 
was like throwing pearls before swine, or, rather, carrying 
coals to Newcastle. So long as they had money, they 
would not work for fifty dollars a month, and when their 
money was gone, they would work for ten. 

"What do you do here, Mr. Mannini ? " ^ said the captain. 

"Oh, we play cards, get drunk, smoke — do anything 
we're a mind to." 

"Don't you want to come aboard and work?" 

"Aole ! aole make make makou i ka hana. Now, got plenty 
money ; no good, work. Mamule, money pau — all gone. 
Ah ! very good, work ! — maikai, hana hana nuil^' 

^ The letter i in the Sandwich Island language is sounded like e in the 
English 



154 TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 

*'But you'll spend all your money in this way/' said the 
captain. 

"Aye! me know that. By-'em-by money pau — all 
gone ; then Kanaka work plenty." 

This was a hopeless case, and the captain left them, to 
wait patiently until their money was gone. 

We discharged our hides and tallow, and in about a week 
were ready to set sail again for the windward. We un- 
moored, and got everything ready, when the captain made 
another attempt upon the oven. This time he had more 
regard to the "mollia tempora fandi," and succeeded very 
well. He got Mr. Mannini in his interest, and as the shot 
was getting low in the locker, prevailed upon him and 
three others to come on board with their chests and baggage, 
and sent a hasty summons to me and the boy to come ashore 
with our things, and join the gang at the hide-house. This 
was unexpected to me ; but anything in the way of variety 
I liked ; so we got ready, and were pulled ashore. I stood 
on the beach while the brig got under weigh, and watched 
her until she rounded the point, and then went up to the 
hide-house to take up my quarters for a few months. 



CHAPTER XIX 

Here was a change in my life as complete as it had been 
sudden. In the twinkling of an eye, I was transformed 
from a sailor into a "beach-comber" and a hide-curer; yet 
the novelty and the comparative independence of the life 
were not unpleasant. Our hide-house was a large building, 
made of rough boards, and intended to hold forty thousand 
hides. In one corner of it, a small room was parted off, in 
which four berths were made, where we were to live, with 
mother earth for our floor. It contained a table, a small 
locker for pots, spoons, plates, etc., and a small hole cut to 
let in the light. Here we put our chests, threw our bedding 
into the berths, and took up our quarters. Over our head 
was another small room, in which Mr. Russell lived, who 
had charge of the hide-house ; the same man who was for a 
time an officer of the Pilgrim. There he lived in solitary 
grandeur; eating and sleeping alone (and these were his 
principal occupations), and communing with his own 
dignity. The boy was to act as cook ; while myself, a giant 
of a Frenchman named Nicholas, and four Sandwich Isl- 
anders, were to cure the hides. Sam, the Frenchman, and 
myself, lived together in the room, and the four Sandwich 
Islanders worked and ate with us, but generally slept at 
the oven. My new messmate, Nicholas, was the most im- 
mense man that I had ever seen in my life. He came on 
the coast in a vessel which was afterwards wrecked, and 
now let himself out to the different houses to cure hides. 
He was considerably over six feet, and of a frame so large 
that he might have been shown for a curiosity. But the 
most remarkable thing about him was his feet. They were 
so large that he could not find a pair of shoes in California 
to fit him, and was obliged to send to Oahu for a pair ; and 



iS6 TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 

when he got them, he was compelled to wear them down at 
the heel. He told me once, himself, that he was wrecked 
in an American brig on the Goodwin Sands, and was sent 
up to London, to the charge of the American consul, without 
clothing to his back or shoes to his feet, and was obliged to 
go about London streets in his stocking-feet three or four 
days, in the month of January, until the consul could have 
a pair of shoes made for him. His strength was in propor- 
tion to his size, and his ignorance to his strength — "strong 
as an ox, and ignorant as strong." He neither knew how 
to read nor to write. He had been to sea from a boy, and 
had seen all kinds of service, and been in every kind of ves- 
sels : merchant-men, men-of-war, privateers, and slavers ; 
and from what I could gather from his accounts of himself, 
and from what he once told me, in confidence, after we had 
become better acquainted, he had even been in worse busi- 
ness than slave-trading. He was once tried for his life in 
Charleston, South Carolina, and though acquitted, yet he 
was so frightened that he never would show himself in the 
United States again ; and I could not persuade him that he 
could never be tried a second time for the same offence. He 
said he had got safe off from the breakers, and was too good 
a sailor to risk his timbers again. 

Though I knew what his life had been, yet I never had 
the slightest fear of him. We always got along very well 
together, and, though so much stronger and larger than I, 
he showed a respect for my education, and for what he had 
heard of my situation before coming to sea. ''I'll be good 
friends with you," he used to say, "for by-and-by you'll 
come out here captain, and then you'll haze me well !" By 
holding well together, we kept the officer in good order, 
for he was evidently afraid of Nicholas, and never ordered 
us, except when employed upon the hides. My other 
companions, the Sandwich Islanders, deserve particular 
notice. 

A considerable trade has been carried on for several years 
between California and the Sandwich Islands, and most of 



TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 157 

the vessels are manned with Islanders ; who, as they, for 
the most part, sign no articles, leave whenever they choose, 
and let themselves out to cure hides at San Diego, and to 
supply the places of the men of the American vessels while 
on the coast. In this way, quite a colony of them had be- 
come settled at San Diego, as their head-quarters. Some 
of these had recently gone off in the Ayacucho and Loriotte, 
and the Pilgrim had taken Mr. Mannini and three others, 
so that there were not more than twenty left. Of these, 
four were on pay at the Ayacucho' s house, four more work- 
ing with us, and the rest were living at the oven in a quiet 
way ; for their money was nearly gone, and they must make 
it last until some other vessel came down to employ them. 
During the four months that I lived here, I got well 
acquainted with all of them, and took the greatest pains 
to become familiar with their language, habits, and char- 
acters. Their language, I could only learn orally, for they 
had not any books among them, though many of them had 
been taught to read and write by the missionaries at home. 
They spoke a little English, and by a sort of compromise, 
a mixed language was used on the beach, which could be 
understood by all. The long name of Sandwich Islanders 
is dropped, and they are called by the whites, all over the 
Pacific Ocean, "Kanakas," from a word in their own lan- 
guage which they apply to themselves, and to all South Sea 
Islanders, in distinction from whites, whom they call 
"Haole." This name, "Kanaka," they answer to, both 
collectively and individually. Their proper names, in their 
own language, being difficult to pronounce and remember, 
they are called by any names which the captains or crews 
may choose to give them. Some are called after the vessel 
they are in ; others by common names, as Jack, Tom, Bill ; 
and some have fancy names, as Ban-yan, Fore-top, Rope- 
yarn, Pelican, etc. Of the four who worked at our house, 
one was named "Mr. Bingham," after the missionary at 
Oahu ; another, Hope, after a vessel that he had been in ; 
a third, Tom Davis, the name of his first captain ; and the 



158 TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 

fourth, Pelican, from his fancied resemblance to that bird. 
Then there was Lagoda-Jack, California-Bill, etc. But 
by whatever names they might be called, they were the 
most interesting, intelligent, and kind-hearted people that 
I ever fell in with. I felt a positive attachment for almost 
all of them ; and many of them I have, to this time, a feel- 
ing for, which would lead me to go a great way for the mere 
pleasure of seeing them, and which will always make me 
feel a strong interest in the mere name of a Sandwich 
Islander. 

Tom Davis knew how to read, write, and cipher in com- 
mon arithmetic ; had been to the United States, and spoke 
English quite well. His education was as good as that of 
three quarters of the Yankees in California, and his man- 
ners and principles a good deal better, and he was so quick 
of apprehension that he might have been taught navigation, 
and the elements of many of the sciences, with the most 
perfect ease. Old "Mr. Bingham" spoke very little Eng- 
lish — almost none, and neither knew how to read nor write ; 
but he was the best-hearted old fellow in the world. He 
must have been over fifty years of age, and had two of his 
front teeth knocked out, which was done by his parents as 
a sign of grief at the death of Tamahamaha, the great king 
of the Sandwich Islands. We used to tell hira that he ate 
Captain Cook, and lost his teeth in that way. That was 
the only thing that ever made him angry. He would always 
be quite excited at that; and say — "Aole!" (no.) "Me 
no eat Captain Cook ! Me pikinini — small — so high — 
— no more ! My father see Captain Cook ! Me — no !" 
None of them liked to have anything said about Captain 
Cook, for the sailors all believe that he was eaten, and that, 
they cannot endure to be taunted with. — "New Zealand 
Kanaka eat white man ; — Sandwich Island Kanaka, — no. 
Sandwich Island Kanaka ua like pu na haole — all 'e same 
a' you!" 

Mr. Bingham was a sort of patriarch among them, and 
was always treated with great respect, though he had not 



TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 159 

the education and energy which gave Mr. Mannini his power 
over them. I have spent hours in talking with this old 
fellow about Tamahamaha, the Charlemagne of the Sand- 
wich Islands; his son and successor Riho Riho, who died 
in England, and was brought to Oahu in the frigate Blonde, 
Captain Lord Byron, and whose funeral he remembered 
perfectly ; and also about the customs of his country in his 
boyhood, and the changes which had been made by the 
missionaries. He never would allow that human beings 
had been eaten there ; and, indeed, it always seemed like an 
insult to tell so affectionate, intelligent, and civilized a class 
of men, that such barbarities had been practised in their 
own country within the recollection of many of them. 
Certainly, the history of no people on the globe can show 
anything like so rapid an advance. I would have trusted 
my life and my fortune in the hands of any one of these 
people; and certainly, had I wished for a favor or act of 
sacrifice, I would have gone to them all, in turn, before I 
should have applied to one of my own countrymen on the 
coast, and should have expected to have seen it done, before 
my own countrymen had got half through counting the cost. 
Their customs, and manner of treating one another, show 
a simple, primitive generosity, which is truly delightful; 
and which is often a reproach to our own people. Whatever 
one has, they all have. Money, food, clothes, they share 
with one another ; even to the last piece of tobacco to put 
in their pipes. I once heard old Mr. Bingham say, with 
the highest indignation, to a Yankee trader who was trying 
to persuade him to keep his money to himself — "No! 
We no all 'e same a' you ! — Suppose one got money, all got 
money. You ; — suppose one got money — lock him up in 
chest. — No good ! " — "Kanaka all 'e same a' one ! " This 
principle they carry so far, that none of them will eat any- 
thing in sight of others, without offering it all round. I have 
seen one of them break a biscuit, which had been given him, 
into five parts, at a time when I knew he was on a very short 
allowance, as there was but little to eat on the beach. 



i6o TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 

My favorite among all of them, and one who was liked by 
both officers and men, and by whomever he had anything to 
do with, was Hope. He was an intelligent, kind-hearted 
little fellow, and I never saw him angry, though I knew him 
for more than a year, and have seen him imposed upon 
by white people, and abused by insolent officers of vessels. 
He was always civil, and always ready, and never forgot a 
benefit. I once took care of him when he was ill, getting 
medicines from the ship's chests, when no captain or officer 
would do anything for him, and he never forgot it. Every 
Kanaka has one particular friend, whom he considers him- 
self bound to do everything for, and with whom he has a 
sort of contract, — an alliance offensive and defensive, — 
and for whom he will often make the greatest sacrifices. 
This friend they call aikane; and for such, did Hope adopt 
me. I do not believe I could have wanted anything which 
he had, that he would not have given me. In return for 
this, I was always his friend among the Americans, and 
used to teach him letters and numbers; for he left home 
before he had learned how to read. He was very curious 
about Boston (as they call the United States) ; asking many 
questions about the houses, the people, etc., and always 
wished to have the pictures in books explained to him. 
They were all astonishingly quick in catching at explana- 
tions, and many things which I had thought it utterly impos- 
sible to make them understand, they often seized in an 
instant, and asked questions which showed that they knew 
enough to make them wish to go farther. The pictures of 
steamboats and railroad cars, in the columns of some news- 
papers which I had, gave me great difficulty to explain. 
The grading of the road, the rails, the construction of the 
carriages, they could easily understand, but the motion 
produced by steam was a little too refined for them. I 
attempted to show it to them once by an experiment upon 
the cook's coppers, but failed ; probably as much from my 
own ignorance as from their want of apprehension ; and, 
I have no doubt, left them with about as clear an idea of 



TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST i6i 

the principle as I had myself. This difficulty, of course, 
existed in the same force with the steamboats; and all I 
could do was to give them some account of the results, in 
the shape of speed ; for, failing in the reason, I had to fall 
back upon the fact. In my account of the speed I was sup- 
ported by Tom, who had been to Nantucket, and seen a 
little steamboat which ran over to New Bedford. 

A map of the world, which I once showed them, kept 
their attention for hours; those who knew how to read 
pointing out the places and referring to me for the distances. 
I remember being much amused with a question which 
Hope asked me. Pointing to the large irregular place which 
is always left blank round the poles, to denote that it is 
undiscovered, he looked up and asked — ^^ Pau? " (Done ? 
ended ?) 

The system of naming the streets and numbering the 
houses, they easily understood, and the utility of it. They 
had a great desire to see America, but were afraid of doubling 
Cape Horn, for they suffer much in cold weather, and had 
heard dreadful accounts of the Cape from those of their 
number who had been round it. 

They smoke a great deal, though not much at a time; 
using pipes with large bowls, and very short stems, or no 
stems at all. These, they light, and putting them to their 
mouths, take a long draught, getting their mouths as full 
as they can hold, and their cheeks distended, and then let 
it slowly out through their mouths and nostrils. The pipe 
is then passed to others, who draw, in the same manner, 
one pipe-full serving for a half a dozen. They never take 
short, continuous draughts, like Europeans, but one of 
these "Oahu puffs," as the sailors call them, serves for 
an hour or two, until some one else lights his pipe, and it is 
passed round in the same manner. Each Kanaka on the 
beach had a pipe, flint, steel, tinder, a hand of tobacco, 
and a jack-knife, which he always carried about with him. 

That which strikes a stranger most peculiarly is their 
style of singing. They run on, in a low, guttural, monoto- 



i62 TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 

nous sort of chant, their lips and tongues seeming hardly 
to move, and the sounds apparently modulated solely in 
the throat. There is very little tune to it, and the words, 
so far as I could learn, are extempore. They sing about 
persons and things which are around them, and adopt this 
method when they do not wish to be understood by any 
but themselves ; and it is very effectual, for with the most 
careful attention I never could detect a word that I knew. 
I have often heard Mr. Mannini, who was the most noted 
improvisatore among them, sing for an hour together, when 
at work in the midst of Americans and Englishmen ; and, 
by the occasional shouts and laughter of the Kanakas, who 
were at a distance, it was evident that he was singing about 
the different men that he was at work with. They have 
great powers of ridicule, . and are excellent mimics; many 
of them discovering and imitating the peculiarities of our 
own people, before we had seen them ourselves. 

These were the people with whom I was to spend a few 
months ; and who, with the exception of the officer, Nicho- 
las the Frenchman, and the boy, made the whole popula- 
tion of the beach. I ought, perhaps, to except the dogs, for 
they were an important part of our settlement. Some of 
the first vessels brought dogs out with them, who, for con- 
venience, were left ashore, and there multiplied, until they 
came to be a great people. While I was on the beach, 
the average number was about forty, and probably an equal, 
or greater number, are drowned, or killed in some other way, 
every year. They are very useful in guarding the beach, 
the Indians being afraid to come down at night; for it 
was impossible for any one to get within half a mile of the 
hide-houses without a general alarm. The father of the 
colony, old Sachem, so called from the ship in which he 
was brought out, died while I was there, full of years, and 
was honorably buried. Hogs, and a few chickens, were 
the rest of the animal tribe, and formed, like the dogs, a 
common company, though they were all known and marked, 
and usually fed at the houses to which they belonged. 



TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 163 

I had been but a few hours on the beach, and the Pilgrim 
was hardly out of sight, when the cry of "Sail ho !" was 
raised, and a small hermaphrodite brig rounded the point, 
bore up into the harbor, and came to anchor. It was the 
Mexican brig Fazio, which we had left at San Pedro, and 
which had come down to land her tallow, try it all over, 
and make new bags, and then take it in, and leave the 
coast. They moored ship, erected their try-works on shore, 
put up a small tent, in which they all lived, and commenced 
operations. They made an addition to our society, and 
we spent many evenings in their tent, where, amid the 
Babel of English, Spanish, French, Indian, and Kanaka, 
we found some words that we could understand in common. 

The morning after my landing, I began the duties of 
hide-curing. In order to understand these, it will be neces- 
sary to give the whole history of a hide, from the time it 
is taken from a bullock until it is put on board the vessel 
to be carried to Boston. When the hide is taken from 
the bullock, holes are cut round it, near the edge, by which 
it is staked out to dry. In this manner it dries without 
shrinking. After they are thus dried in the sun, they are 
received by the vessels, and brought down to the depot. 
The vessels land them, and leave them in large piles near 
the houses. Then begins the hide-curer's duty. The 
first thing is to put them in soak. This is done by carry- 
ing them down at low tide, and making them fast, in small 
piles, by ropes, and letting the tide come up and cover 
them. Every day we put in soak twenty-five for each 
man, which, with us, made an hundred and fifty. There 
they lie forty-eight hours, when they are taken out, and 
rolled up, in wheelbarrows, and thrown into the vats. 
These vats contain brine, made very strong; being sea- 
water, with great quantities of salt thrown in. This pickles 
the hides, and in this they He forty-eight hours; the use 
of the sea-water, into which they are first put, being merely 
to soften and clean them. From these vats, they are taken, 
and lie on a platform twenty-four hours, and then are 



i64 TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 

spread upon the ground, and carefully stretched and staked 
out, so that they may dry smooth. After they were staked, 
and while yet wet and soft, we used to go upon them with 
our knives, and carefully cut off all the bad parts : — the 
pieces of meat and fat, which would corrupt and infect the 
whole if stowed away in a vessel for many months, the 
large flippers, the ears, and all other parts which would 
prevent close stowage. This was the most difl&cult part 
of our duty; as it required much skill to take everything 
necessary off and not to cut or injure the hide. It was 
also a long process, as six of us had to clean an hundred 
and fifty, most of which required a great deal to be done 
to them, as the Spaniards are very careless in skinning 
their cattle. Then, too, as we cleaned them while they 
were staked out, we were obliged to kneel down upon them, 
which always gives beginners the back-ache. The first 
day, I was so slow and awkward that I cleaned only eight ; 
at the end of a few days I doubled my number; and in 
a fortnight or three weeks, could keep up with the others, 
and clean my proportion — twenty-five. 

This cleaning must be got through with before noon; 
for by that time they get too dry. After the sun has been 
upon them a few hours, they are carefully gone over with 
scrapers, to get off all the grease which the sun brings out. 
This being done, the stakes are pulled up, and the hides 
carefully doubled, with the hair side out, and left to dry. 
About the middle of the afternoon they are turned upon 
the other side, and at sun-down piled up and covered over. 
The next day they are spread out and opened again, and 
at night, if fully dry, are thrown upon a long, horizontal 
pole, five at a time, and beat with flails. This takes all 
the dust from them. Then, being salted, scraped, cleaned, 
dried, and beaten, they are stowed away in the house. 
Here ends their history, except that they are taken out 
again when the vessel is ready to go home, beaten, stowed 
away on board, carried to Boston, tanned, made into shoes 
and other articles for which leather is used ; and many of 



TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 165 

them, very probably, in the end, brought back again to 
California in the shape of shoes, and worn out in pursuit 
of other bullocks, or in the curing of other hides. 

By putting an hundred and fifty in soak every day, we 
had the same number at each stage of curing, on each 
day ; so that we had, every day, the same work to do upon 
the same number : an hundred and fifty to put in soak ; 
an hundred and fifty to wash out and put in the vat ; the 
same number to haul from the vat and put on the platform 
to drain; the same number to spread and stake out and 
clean; and the same number to beat and stow away in 
the house. I ought to except Sunday; for, by a pre- 
scription which no captain or agent has yet ventured to 
break in upon, Sunday has been a day of leisure on the 
beach for years. On Saturday night, the hides, in every 
stage of progress, are carefully covered up, and not uncov- 
ered until Monday morning. On Sundays we had abso- 
lutely no work to do, unless it was to kill a bullock, which 
was sent down for our use about once a week, and some- 
times came on Sunday. Another good arrangement was, 
that we had Just so much work to do, and when that was 
through, the time was our own. Knowing this, we worked 
hard, and needed no driving. We "turned out" every 
morning at the first signs of daylight, and allowing a short 
time, about eight o'clock, for breakfast, generally got 
through our labor between one and two o'clock, when we 
dined, and had the rest of the time to ourselves; until 
just before sun-down, when we beat the dry hides and put 
them in the house, and covered over all the others. By 
this means we had about three hours to ourselves every 
afternoon ; and at sun-down we had our supper, and our 
work was done for the day. There was no watch to stand, 
and no topsails to reef. The evenings we generally spent 
at one another's houses, and I often went up and spent 
an hour or so at the oven ; which was called the "Kanaka 
Hotel," and the "Oahu Coffee-house." Immediately 
after dinner we usually took a short siesta to make up for 



i66 TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 

our early rising, and spent the rest of the afternoon accord- 
ing to our own fancies. I generally read, wrote, and made 
or mended clothes ; for necessity, the mother of invention, 
had taught me these two latter arts. The Kanakas went 
up to the oven, and spent the time in sleeping, talking, 
and smoking; and my messmate, Nicholas, who neither^ 
knew how to read or write, passed away the time by a long 
siesta, two or three smokes with his pipe, and a paseo to 
the other houses. This leisure time is never interfered 
with, for the captains know that the men earn it by work- 
ing hard and fast, and that if they interfered with it, the 
men could easily make their twenty-five hides apiece last 
through the day. We were pretty independent, too, for 
the master of the house — "capitan de la casa" — had 
nothing to say to us, except when we were at work on the 
hides, and although we could not go up to the town without 
his permission, this was seldom or never refused. 

The great weight of the wet hides, which we were obliged 
to roll about in wheelbarrows; the continual stooping 
upon those which were pegged out to be cleaned ; and the 
smell of the vats, into which we were often obliged to get, 
knee-deep, to press down the hides; all made the work 
disagreeable and fatiguing ; — but we soon got hardened 
to it, and the comparative independence of our life reconciled 
us to it; for there was nobody to haze us and find fault; 
and when we got through, we had only to wash and change 
our clothes, and our time was our own. There was, how- 
ever, one exception to the time's being our own; which 
was, that on two afternoons of every week we were obliged 
to go off and get wood, for the cook to use in the galley. 
Wood is very scarce in the vicinity of San Diego ; there 
being no trees of any size, for miles. In the town, the in- 
habitants burn the small wood which grows in thickets, 
and for which they send out Indians in large numbers, 
every few days. Fortimately, the climate is so fine that 
they have no need of a fire in their houses, and only use 
it for cooking. With us, the getting of wood was a great 



TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 167 

trouble ; for all that in the vicinity of the houses had been 
cut down, and we were obliged to go off a mile or two, and 
to carry it some distance on our backs, as we could not 
get the hand-cart up the hills and over the uneven places. 
Two afternoons in the week, generally Monday and Thurs- 
day, as soon as we had got through dinner, we started off for 
the bush, each of us furnished with a hatchet and a long 
piece of rope, and dragging the hand-cart behind us, and 
followed by the whole colony of dogs, who were always 
ready for the bush and were half mad whenever they saw 
our preparations. We went with the hand-cart as far as 
we could conveniently drag it, and leaving it in an open, 
conspicuous place, separated ourselves; each taking his 
own course, and looking about for some good place to begin 
upon. Frequently, we had to go nearly a mile from the 
hand-cart, before we could find any fit place. Having 
lighted upon a good thicket, the next thing was to clear 
away the under-brush, and have fair play at the trees. 
These trees are seldom more than five or six feet high, and 
the highest that I ever saw in these expeditions could not 
have been more than twelve ; so that, with lopping off the 
branches and clearing away the underwood, we had a good 
deal of cutting to do for a very little wood. Having cut 
enough for a "back-load," the next thing was to make it 
well fast with the rope, and heaving the bundle upon our 
backs, and taking the hatchet in hand, to walk off, up hill 
and down dale, to the hand-cart. Two good back-loads 
apiece filled the hand-cart; and that was each one's pro- 
portion. When each had brought down his second load, 
we filled the hand-cart, and took our way again slowly 
back to the beach. It was generally sun-down when we 
got back, and unloading, covering the hides for the night, 
and getting our supper, finished the day's work. 

These wooding excursions had always a mixture of some- 
thing rather pleasant in them. Roaming about in the 
woods with hatchet in hand, like a backwoodsman, followed 
by a troop of dogs ; starting up of birds, snakes, hares, and 



i68 TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 

foxes, and examining the various kinds of trees, flowers, 
and birds' nests, was, at least, a change from the monoto- 
nous drag and pull on shipboard. Frequently, too, we 
had some amusement and adventure. The coati, of which 
I have before spoken, — a sort of mixture of the fox and 
wolf breeds, — fierce little animals, with bushy tails and 
large heads, and a quick, sharp bark, abound here, as in 
all other parts of California. These, the dogs were very 
watchful for, and whenever they saw them, started off in 
full run after them. We had many fine chases; yet, al- 
though our dogs ran finely, the rascals generally escaped. 
They are a match for the dog, — one to one, — but as the 
dogs generally went in squads, there was seldom a fair fight. 
A smaller dog, belonging to us, once attacked a coati, single, 
and got a good deal worsted, and might perhaps have 
been killed, had we not come to his assistance. We had, 
however, one dog which gave them a good deal of trouble 
and many hard runs. He was a fine, tall fellow, and united 
strength and agility better than any dog that I have ever 
seen. He was born at the Islands, his father being an 
English mastiff and his mother a greyhound. He had 
the high head, long legs, narrow body, and springing gait 
of the latter, and the heavy jaw, thick jowls, and strong 
fore-quarters of the mastiff. When he was brought to 
San Diego, an English sailor said that he looked, about the 
face, precisely like the Duke of Wellington, whom he had 
once seen at the Tower ; and, indeed, there was something 
about him which resembled the portraits of the Duke. 
From this time he was christened "Welly," and became 
the favorite and bully of the beach. He always led the 
dogs by several yards in the chase, and had killed two coati 
at different times in single combats. We often had fine 
sport with these fellows. A quick, sharp bark from a 
coati, and in an instant every dog was at the height of his 
speed. A few moments made up for an unfair start, and 
gave each dog his relative place. Welly, at the head, 
seemed almost to skim over the bushes; and after him 






CURING THE HIDES 



mit:x. 



had B^ chases; 



ti3a i 



ai of ti'.. 
ail leiiow, and united 



a he had 
somethins" 
>f the I 
V. ^i^y, and be 
He alvay? 1« 
in the chase, and had V. 
- ;gle combats. We : 
^ A quick, sharp 

•■^ was a^ ' •'■ i^is 

.p for an ■■ and 

place. Weliy, at tnc hear 



TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 169 

came Fanny, Bravo, Childers, and the other fleet ones, — 
the spaniels and terriers; and then, behind, followed the 
heavy corps, — bulldogs, etc. ; for we had every breed. 
Pursuit by us was in vain, and in about half an hour a few 
of them would come panting and straggling back. 

Beside the coati, the dogs sometimes made prizes of rab- 
bits and hares, which are very plentiful here, and great 
numbers of which we often shot for our dinners. There 
was another animal that I was not so much disposed to 
find amusement from, and that was the rattlesnake. These 
are very abundant here, especially during the spring of 
the year. The latter part of the time that I was on shore, 
I did not meet with so many, but for the first two months 
we seldom went into "the bush" without one of our num- 
ber starting some of them. The first that I ever saw, I 
remember perfectly well. I had left my companions, and 
was beginning to clear away a fine clump of trees, when, 
just in the midst of the thicket, not more than eight yards 
from me, one of these fellows set up his hiss. It is a sharp, 
continuous sound, and resembles very much the letting 
off of the steam from the small pipe of a steamboat, ex- 
cept that it is on a smaller scale. I knew, by the sound 
of an axe, that one of my companions was near, and called 
out to him, to let him know what I had fallen upon. He 
took it very lightly, and as he seemed inclined to laugh at 
me for being afraid, I determined to keep my place. I 
knew that so long as I could hear the rattle, I was safe, 
for these snakes never make a noise when they are in motion. 
Accordingly, I kept at my work, and the noise which I 
made with cutting and breaking the trees kept him in alarm ; 
so that I had the rattle to show me his whereabouts. Once 
or twice the noise stopped for a short time, which gave me 
a little uneasiness, and retreating a few steps, I threw some- 
thing into the bush, at which he would set his rattle agoing ; 
and finding that he had not moved from his first place, 
I was easy again. In this way I continued at my work 
until I had cut a full load, never suffering him to be quiet 



I70 TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 

for a moment. Ha\dng cut my load, I strapped it to- 
gether, and got everything ready for starting. I felt that 
I could now call the others without the imputation of being 
afraid ; and went in search of them. In a few minutes we 
were all collected, and began an attack upon the bush. 
The big Frenchman, who was the one that I had called 
to at first, I found as Httle inclined to approach the snake 
as I had been. The dogs, too, seemed afraid of the rattle, 
and kept up a barking at a safe distance ; but the Kanakas 
showed no fear, and getting long sticks, went into the bush, 
and keeping a bright look-out, stood within a few feet of 
him. One or two blows struck near him, and a few stones 
thrown, started him, and we lost his track, and had the 
pleasant consciousness that he might be directly under our 
feet. By throwing stones and chips in different directions, 
we made him spring his rattle again, and began another 
attack. This time we drove him into the clear groimd, 
and saw him gliding off, with head and tail erect, when 
a stone, well aimed, knocked him over the bank, down a 
declivity of fifteen or twenty feet, and stretched him at 
his length. Ha\dng made sure of him, by a few more 
stones, we went down, and one of the Kanakas cut off his 
rattle. These rattles vary in number, it is said, accord- 
ing to the age of the snake ; though the Indians think they 
indicate the number of creatures they have killed. We 
always preserved them as trophies, and at the end of the 
summer had quite a number. None of our people were 
ever bitten by them, but one of our dogs died of a bite, 
and another was supposed to have been bitten, but re- 
covered. We had no remedy for the bite, though it was 
said that the Indians of the country had, and the Kanakas 
professed to have an herb which would cure it, but it was 
fortunately never brought to the test. 

Hares and rabbits, as I said before, were abundant, and, 
during the winter months, the waters are covered with 
wild ducks and geese. Crows, too, were very numerous, 
and frequently alighted in great numbers upon our hides. 



TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 171 

picking at the pieces of dried meat and fat. Bears and 
wolves are numerous in the upper parts, and in the interior 
(and, indeed, a man was killed by a bear within a few miles 
of San Pedro, while we were there), but there were none in 
our immediate neighborhood. The only other animals were 
horses. Over a dozen of these were owned by different 
people on the beach, and were allowed to run loose among 
the hills, with a long lasso attached to them, and pick up 
feed wherever they could find it. We were sure of seeing 
them once a day, for there was no water among the hills, 
and they were obliged to come down to the well which had 
been dug upon the beach. These horses were bought at 
from two to six and eight dollars apiece, and were held 
very much as common property. We generally kept one 
fast to one of the houses every day, so that we could mount 
him and catch any of the others. Some of them were 
really fine animals, and gave us many good runs up to the 
presidio and over the country. 



CHAPTER XX 

After we had been a few weeks on shore, and had begun 
to feel broken into the regularity of our life, its monotony 
was interrupted by the arrival of two vessels from the wind- 
ward. We were sitting at dinner in our little room, when 
we heard the cry of "Sail ho !" This, we had learned, did 
not always signify a vessel, but was raised whenever a 
woman was seen coming down from the town ; or a squaw, 
or an ox-cart, or anything unusual, hove in sight upon the 
road ; so we took no notice of it. But it soon became so 
loud and general from all parts of the beach, that we were 
led to go to the door ; and there, sure enough, were two sails 
coming round the point, and leaning over from the strong 
north-west wind, which blows down the coast every after- 
noon. The headmost was a ship, and the other, a brig. 
Everybody was alive on the beach, and all manner of con- 
jectures were abroad. Some said it was the Pilgrim, with 
the Boston ship, which we were expecting ; but we soon 
saw that the brig was not the Pilgrim, and the ship, with 
her stump top-gallant-masts and rusty sides, could not be 
a dandy Boston Indiaman. As they drew nearer, we soon 
discovered the high poop and top-gallant forecastle, and 
other marks of the Italian ship Rosa, and the brig proved 
to be the Catalina, which we saw at Santa Barbara, just 
arrived from Valparaiso. They came to anchor, moored 
ship, and commenced discharging hides and tallow. The 
Rosa had purchased the house occupied by the Lagoda, 
and the Catalina took the other spare one between ours and 
the Ayacucho's, so that, now, each one was occupied, and 
the beach, for several days, was all alive. The Catalina 
had several Kanakas on board, who were immediately 
besieged by the others, and carried up to the oven, where 

172 



TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 173 

they had a long pow-wow, and a smoke. Two Frenchmen, 
who belonged to the Rosa's crew, came in, every evening, 
to see Nicholas ; and from them we learned that the Pilgrim 
was at San Pedro, and was the only other vessel now on 
the coast. Several of the Italians slept on shore at their 
hide-house ; and there, and at the tent in which the Fazio's 
crew lived, we had some very good singing, almost every 
evening. The Italians sang a variety of songs — barca- 
rollas, provincial airs, etc. ; in several of which I recognized 
parts of our favorite operas and sentimental songs. They 
often joined in a song, taking all the different parts ; which 
produced a fine effect, as many of them had good voices, 
and all seemed to sing with spirit and feeling. One young 
man, in particular, had a falsetto as clear as a clarionet. 

The greater part of the crews of the vessels came ashore 
every evening, and we passed the time in going about from 
one house to another, and listening to all manner of lan- 
guages. The Spanish was the common ground upon which 
we all met ; for every one knew more or less of that. We 
had now, out of forty or fifty, representatives from almost 
every nation under the sun : two Englishmen, three Yan- 
kees, two Scotchmen, two Welshmen, one Irishman, three 
Frenchmen (two of whom were Normans, and the third from 
Gascony), one Dutchman, one Austrian, two or three 
Spaniards (from old Spain), half a dozen Spanish-Ameri- 
cans and half-breeds, two native Indians from Chili and 
the Island of Chiloe, one Negro, one Mulatto, about twenty 
Italians, from all parts of Italy, as many more Sandwich 
Islanders, one Otaheitan, and one Kanaka from the Mar- 
quesas Islands. 

The night before the vessels were ready to sail, all the 
Europeans united and had an entertainment at the Rosa's 
hide-house, and we had songs of every nation and tongue. 
A German gave us "Och ! mein lieber Augustin !" the three 
Frenchmen roared through the Marseilles Hymn; the 
English and Scotchmen gave us "Rule Britannia," and 
"Wha'll be King but Charlie?" the Italians and Spaniards 



174 TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 

screamed through some national affairs, for which I was 
none the wiser; and we three Yankees made an attempt 
at the "Star-spangled Banner." After these national 
tributes had been paid, the Austrian gave us a very pretty 
little love-song, and the Frenchmen sang a spirited thing 
called "Sentinelle! O prenez garde a vous!" and then 
followed the melange which might have been expected. 
When I left them, the aquadiente and annisou was pretty 
well in their heads, and they were all singing and talking 
at once, and their peculiar national oaths were getting as 
plenty as pronoims. 

The next day, the two vessels got under weigh for the 
windward, and left us in quiet possession of the beach. 
Our numbers were somewhat enlarged by the opening of 
the new houses, and the society of the beach a Httle changed. 
In charge of the Catalina's house, was an old Scotchman, 
who, like most of his countrymen, had a pretty good edu- 
cation, and, Hke many of them, was rather pragmatical, 
and had a ludicrously solemn conceit. He employed his 
time in taking care of his pigs, chickens, turkeys, dogs, etc., 
and in smoking his long pipe. Everything was as neat as 
a pin in the house, and he was as regular in his hours as 
a chronometer, but as he kept very much by himself, was 
not a great addition to our society. He hardly spent a cent 
all the time he was on the beach, and the others said he 
was no shipmate. He had been a petty ofl&cer on board the 
British frigate Dublin, Capt. Lord James Townshend, and 
had great ideas of his own importance. The man in charge 
of the Rosa's house was an Austrian by birth, but spoke, 
read, and wrote four languages with ease and correctness. 
German was his native tongue, but being born near the 
borders of Italy, and having sailed out of Genoa, the Italian 
was almost as familiar to him as his own language. He 
was six years on board of an English man-of-war, where 
he learned to speak our language with ease, and also to 
read and write it. He had been several years in Spanish 
vessels, and had acquired that language so well, that he 



TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 175 

could read any books in it. He was between forty and 
fifty years of age, and was a singular mixture of the man- 
of-war's-man and Puritan. He talked a great deal about 
propriety and steadiness, and gave good advice to the 
youngsters and Kanakas, but seldom went up to the town, 
without coming down "three sheets in the wind." One 
holyday, he and old Robert (the Scotchman from the 
Catalina) went up to town, and got so cozy, talking over 
old stories and giving one another good advice, that they 
came down, double-backed, on a horse, and both rolled off 
into the sand as soon as the horse stopped. This put an 
end to their pretensions, and they never heard the last 
of it from the rest of the men. On the night of the enter- 
tainment at the Rosa's house, I saw old Schmidt (that 
was the Austrian's name), standing up by a hogshead, 
holding on by both hands, and calling out to himself — 
"Hold on, Schmidt ! hold on, my good fellow, or you'll be 
on your back !" Still, he was an intelligent, good-natured 
old fellow, and had a chest-full of books, which he will- 
ingly lent me to read. In the same house with him was a 
Frenchman and an Englishman ; the latter a regular-built 
"man-of-war Jack"; a thorough seaman; a hearty, gen- 
erous fellow; and, at the same time, a drunken, dissolute 
dog. He made it a point to get drunk once a fortnight 
(when he always managed to sleep on the road, and have 
his money stolen from him), and to battle the Frenchman 
once a week. These, with a Chilian, and a half a dozen 
Kanakas, formed the addition to our company. 

In about six weeks from the time when the Pilgrim sailed, 
we had got all the hides which she left us cured and stowed 
away; and having cleared up the ground, and emptied 
the vats, and set everything in order, had nothing more 
to do until she should come down again, but to supply 
ourselves with wood. Instead of going twice a week for 
this purpose, we determined to give one whole week to 
getting wood, and then we should have enough to last us 
half through the summer. Accordingly, we started off 



176 TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 

every morning, after early breakfast, with our hatchets 
in hand, and cut wood until the sun was over the point, — 
which was our only mark of time, as there was not a watch 
on the beach — and then came back to dinner, and after 
dinner, started off again with our hand-cart and ropes, 
and carted and "backed" it down, until sunset. This, we 
kept for up a week, until we had collected several cords, 

— enough to last us for six or eight weeks — when we 
"knocked off" altogether, much to my joy; for, though 
I liked straying in the woods, and cutting, very well, yet 
the backing the wood for so great a distance, over an un- 
even country, was, without exception, the hardest work 
I had ever done. I usually had to kneel down and con- 
trive to heave the load, which was well strapped together, 
upon my back, and then rise up and start off with it, up 
the hills and down the vales, sometimes through thickets, 

— the rough points sticking into the skin, and tearing the 
clothes, so that, at the end of the week, I had hardly a 
whole shirt to my back. 

We were now through all our work, and had nothing 
more to do until the Pilgrim should come down again. 
We had nearly got through our provisions too, as well as 
our work ; for our officer had been very wasteful of them, 
and the tea, flour, sugar, and molasses, were all gone. We 
suspected him of sending them up to the town ; and he 
always treated the squaws with molasses when they came 
down to the beach. Finding wheat-coffee and dry bread 
rather poor living, we clubbed together, and I went up to 
the town on horseback, with a great salt-bag behind the 
saddle, and a few reals in my pocket, and brought back 
the bag full of onions, pears, beans, water-melons, and other 
fruits ; for the young woman who tended the garden, find- 
ing that I belonged to the American ship, and that we were 
short of provisions, put in a double portion. With these 
we Hved Kke fighting-cocks for a week or two, and had, 
besides, what the sailors call "a blow-out on sleep"; not 
turning out in the morning until breakfast was ready. I 



TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 177 

employed several days in overhauling my chest, and mend- 
ing up all my old clothes, until I had got everything in 
order — patch upon patch, like a sand-barge's mainsail. 
Then I took hold of Bowditch's Navigator, which I had 
always with me. I had been through the greater part of 
it, and now went carefully through it, from beginning to 
end, working out most of the examples. That done, and 
there being no signs of the Pilgrim, I made a descent upon 
old Schmidt, and borrowed and read all the books there 
were upon the beach. Such a dearth was there of these 
latter articles, that anything, even a little child's story- 
book, or the half of a shipping-calendar, appeared like a 
treasure. I actually read a jest-book through, from begin- 
ning to end, in one day, as I should a novel, and enjoyed it 
very much. At last, when I thought that there were no 
more to be got, I found, at the bottom of old Schmidt's 
chest, "Mandeville, a Romance, by Godwin, in five vol- 
umes." This I had never read, but Godwin's name was 
enough, and after the wretched trash I had devoured, any- 
thing bearing the name of a distinguished intellectual man, 
was a prize indeed. I bore it off, and for two days I was 
up early and late, reading with all my might, and actually 
drinking in delight. It is no extravagance to say that 
it was like a spring in a desert land. 

From the subhme to the ridiculous — so, with me, from 
Mandeville to hide-curing, was but a step ; for 

Wednesday, July iSth, brought us the brig Pilgrim from 
the windward. As she came in, we found that she was a 
good deal altered in her appearance. Her short top-gallant- 
masts were up; her bowlines all unrove (except to the 
courses) ; the quarter boom-irons off her lower yards ; her 
jack-cross-trees sent down; several blocks got rid of; 
running-rigging rove in new places ; and numberless other 
changes, of the same character. Then, too, there was a 
new voice giving orders, and a new face on the quarter-deck, 
— a short, dark-complexioned man, in a green jacket and 
a high leather cap. These changes, of course, set the whole 



178 TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 

beach on the gui-vive, and we were all waiting for the boat 
to come ashore, that we might have things explained. At 
length, after the sails were furled and the anchor carried 
out, the boat pulled ashore, and the news soon flew that 
the expected ship had arrived at Santa Barbara, and that 

Captain T had taken command of her, and her captain, 

Faucon, had taken the Pilgrim, and was the green-jacketed 
man on the quarter-deck. The boat put directly off again, 
without gi\dng us time to ask any more questions, and we 
were obKged to wait till night, when we took a little skiff, 
that lay on the beach, and paddled off. When I stepped 
aboard, the second mate called me aft, and gave me a large 
bundle, directed to me, and marked "Ship^/er^." This 
was what I had longed for, yet I refrained from opening 
it imtil I went ashore. Di\dng down into the forecastle, 
I found the same old crew, and was really glad to see them 
again. Numerous inquiries passed as to the new ship, the 
latest news from Boston, etc. S had received let- 
ters from home, and nothing remarkable had happened. 
The Alert was agreed on all hands to be a fine ship, and 
a large one: "Larger than the Rosa" — "Big enough to 
carry off all the hides in California" — "Rail as high as a 
man's head" — "A crack ship" — "A regular dandy," 

etc. Captain T took command of her, and she went 

directly up to Monterey; from thence she was to go to 
San Francisco, and probably would not be in San Diego 
under two or three months. Some of the Pilgrim's crew 
found old shipmates aboard of her, and spent an hour or 
two in her forecastle, the evening before she sailed. They 
said her decks were as white as snow — holystoned every 
morning, like a man-of-war's; everything on board "ship- 
shape and Bristol fashion"; a fine crew, three mates, 
a sailmaker and carpenter, and all complete. "They've 
got a man for mate of that ship, and not a bloody sheep 
about decks I" — "A mate that knows his duty, and makes 
everybody do theirs, and won't be imposed upon either 
by captain or crew." After collecting all the informiation 



TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 179 

we could get on this point, we asked something about their 
new captain. He had hardly been on board long enough 
for them to know much about him, but he had taken hold 
strong, as soon as he took command ; — sending down the 
top-gallant-masts, and unreeving half the rigging, the very- 
first day. 

Having got all the news we could, , we pulled ashore; 
and as soon as we reached the house, I, as might be sup- 
posed, proceeded directly to opening my bundle, and found 
a reasonable supply of duck, flannel shirts, shoes, etc., 
and, what was still more valuable, a packet of eleven letters. 
These I sat up nearly all the night to read, and put them 
carefully away, to be read and re-read again and again 
at my leisure. Then came a half a dozen newspapers, the 
last of which gave notice of Thanksgiving, and of the clear- 
ance of "ship Alert, Edward H. Faucon, master, for Callao 
and Cahfornia, by Bryant, Sturgis & Co." No one has ever 
been on distant voyages, and after a long absence received 
a newspaper from home, who cannot understand the delight 
that they give one. I read every part of them — the 
houses to let ; things lost or stolen ; auction sales, and all. 
Nothing carries you so entirely to a place, and makes you 
feel so perfectly at home, as a newspaper. The very name 
of "Boston Daily Advertiser" "sounded hospitably upon 
the ear." 

The Pilgrim discharged her hides, which set us at work 
again, and in a few days we were in the old routine of 
dry hides — wet hides — cleaning — beating, etc. Captain 
Faucon came quietly up to me, as I was at work, with my 
knife, cutting the meat from a dirty hide, asked me how 
I liked California, and repeated — "Tityre, tu patulae 
recubans sub tegmine fagi." Very apropos, thought I, 
and, at the same time, serves to show that you understand 
Latin. However, a kind word from a captain is a thing 
not to be slighted ; so I answered him civilly, and made 
the most of it. 

Saturday, July 11th. The Pilgrim set sail for the wind- 



i8o TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 

ward, and left us to go on in our old way. Having laid in 
such a supply of wood, and the days being now long, and 
invariably pleasant, we had a good deal of time to ourselves. 
All the duck I received from home I soon made up into 
trowsers and frocks, and displayed, every Sunday, a com- 
plete suit of my own make, from head to foot, having formed 
the remnants of the duck into a cap. Reading, mending, 
sleeping, with occasional excursions into the bush, with 
the dogs, in search of coati, hares, and rabbits, or to en- 
counter a rattlesnake, and now and then a visit to the 
presidio, filled up our spare time after hide-curing was over 
for the day. Another amusement, which we sometimes 
indulged in, was "burning the water" for craw-fish. For 
this purpose, we procured a pair of grains, with a long staff 
like a harpoon, and making torches with tarred rope twisted 
round a long pine stick, took the only boat on the beach, 
a small skiff, and with a torch-bearer in the bow, a steers- 
man in the stern, and one man on each side with the grains, 
went off, on dark nights, to burn the water. This is fine 
sport. Keeping within a few rods of the shore, where the 
water is not more than three or four feet deep, with a clear 
sandy bottom, the torches light everything up so that one 
could almost have seen a pin among the grains of sand. 
The craw-fish are an easy prey, and we used soon to get a 
load of them. The other fish were more difficult to catch, 
yet we frequently speared a number of them, of various 
kinds and sizes. The Pilgrim brought us down a supply 
of fish-hooks, which we had never had before, on the beach, 
and for several days we went down to the Point, and caught 
a quantity of cod and mackerel. On one of these expedi- 
tions, we saw a battle between two Sandwich Islanders 
and a shark. "Johnny" had been playing about our 
boat for some time, driving away the fish, and showing 
his teeth at our bait, when we missed him, and in a few 
moments heard a great shouting between two Kanakas 
who were fishing on the rock opposite to us: "£ hana 
hana make i ka ia nui!" "E pii mai Aikane! " etc. ; and 



TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST i8i 

saw them pulling away on a stout line, and "Johnny 
Shark" floundering at the other end. The line soon broke ; 
but the Kanakas would not let him off so easily, and sprang 
directly into the water after him. Now came the tug of 
war. Before he could get into deep water, one of them 
seized him by the tail, and ran up with him upon the beach, 
but Johnny twisted round, turning his head under his 
body, and showing his teeth in the vicinity of the Kanaka's 
hand, made him let go and spring out of the way. The 
shark now turned tail and made the best of his way, by 
flapping and floundering, toward deep water; but here 
again, before he was fairly off, the other Kanaka seized him 
by the tail, and made a spring towards the beach, his com- 
panion at the same time paying away upon him with stones 
and a large stick. As soon, however, as the shark could 
turn, he was obliged to let go his hold ; but the instant he 
made toward deep water, they were both behind him, 
watching their chance to seize him. In this way the battle 
went on for some time, the shark, in a rage, splashing and 
twisting about, and the Kanakas, in high excitement, yelling 
at the top of their voices; but the shark at last got off, 
carrying away a hook and line, and not a few severe bruises. 



CHAPTER XXI 

We kept up a constant connection with the presidio, 
and by the close of the summer I had added much to my 
vocabulary, beside having made the acquaintance of nearly 
everybody in the place, and acquired some knowledge of 
the character and habits of the people, as well as of the 
institutions under which they live. 

California was first discovered in 1536, by Cortes, and 
was subsequently visited by numerous other adventurers, 
as well as commissioned voyagers of the crown. It was 
found to be inhabited by numerous tribes of Indians, and 
to be in many parts extremely fertile ; to which, of course, 
was added rumors of gold mines, pearl fishery, etc. No 
sooner was the importance of the country known, than the 
Jesuits obtained leave to establish themselves in it, to 
christianize and enlighten the Indians. They established 
missions in various parts of the country toward the close 
of the seventeenth century, and collected the natives about 
them, baptizing them into the church, and teaching them 
the arts of civilized life. To protect the Jesuits in their 
missions, and at the same time to support the power of 
the crown over the civilized Indians, two forts were erected 
and garrisoned, one at San Diego, and the other at Mon- 
terey. These were called Presidios, and divided the com- 
mand of the whole country between them. Presidios have 
since been established at Santa Barbara and San Francisco ; 
thus dividing the country into four large districts, each with 
its presidio, and governed by the commandant. The 
soldiers, for the most part, married civilized Indians ; and 
thus, in the vicinity of each presidio, sprung up, gradually, 
small towns. In the course of time, vessels began to come 
into the ports to trade with the missions, and received hides 



TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 183 

in return; and thus began the great trade of California. 
Nearly all the cattle in the country belonged to the missions, 
and they employed their Indians, who became, in fact, their 
slaves, in tending their vast herds. In the year 1793, when 
Vancouver visited San Diego, the missions had obtained 
great wealth and power, and are accused of having de- 
preciated the country with the sovereign, that they might 
be allowed to retain their possessions. On the expulsion of 
the Jesuits from the Spanish dominions, the missions passed 
into the hands of the Franciscans, though without any 
essential change in their management. Ever since the in- 
dependence of Mexico, the missions have been going down ; 
until, at last, a law was passed, stripping them of all their 
possessions, and confining the priests to their spiritual 
duties ; and at the same time declaring all the Indians free 
and independent Rancheros. The change in the condition 
of the Indians was, as may be supposed, only nominal : 
they are virtually slaves, as much as they ever were. But 
in the missions, the change was complete. The priests 
have now no power, except in their religious character, and 
the great possessions of the missions are given over to be 
preyed upon by the harpies of the civil power, who are 
sent there in the capacity of administradores , to settle up 
the concerns ; and who usually end, in a few years, by mak- 
ing themselves fortunes, and leaving their stewardships 
worse than they found them. The dynasty of the priests 
was much more acceptable to the people of the country, 
and, indeed, to every one concerned with the country, by 
trade or otherwise, than that of the administradores. The 
priests were attached perpetually to one mission, and felt 
the necessity of keeping up its credit. Accordingly, their 
debts were regularly paid, and the people were, in the main, 
well treated, and attached to those who had spent their 
whole lives among them. But the administradores are 
strangers sent from Mexico, having no interest in the coun- 
try ; not identified in any way with their charge, and, for 
the most part, men of desperate fortunes — broken down 



i84 TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 

politicians and soldiers — whose only object is to retrieve 
their condition in as short a time as possible. The change 
had been made but a few years before our arrival upon the 
coast, yet, in that short time, the trade was much dimin- 
ished, credit impaired, and the venerable missions going 
rapidly to decay. The external arrangements remain the 
same. There are four presidios, having under their protec- 
tion the various missions, and pueblos, which are towns 
formed by the civil power, and containing no mission or 
presidio. The most northerly presidio is San Francisco ; 
the next Monterey; the next Santa Barbara, including 
the mission of the same, St. Louis Obispo, and St. Buena- 
ventura, which is the finest mission in the whole country, 
having very fertile soil and rich vineyards. The last, and 
most southerly, is San Diego, including the mission of the 
same, San Juan Campestrano, the Pueblo de los Angelos, 
the largest town in California, with the neighboring mission 
of San Gabriel. The priests in spiritual matters are sub- 
ject to the Archbishop of Mexico, and in temporal matters 
to the governor-general, who is the great civil and military 
head of the country. 

The government of the country is an arbitrary democ- 
racy; having no common law, and no judiciary. Their 
only laws are made and unmade at the caprice of the legis- 
lature, and are as variable as the legislature itself. They 
pass through the form of sending representatives to the 
congress at Mexico, but as it takes several months to go 
and return, and there is very little communication between 
the capital and this distant province, a member usually 
stays there, as permanent member, knowing very well that 
there will be revolutions at home before he can write and 
receive an answer ; and if another member should be sent, 
he has only to challenge him, and decide the contested 
election in that way. 

Revolutions are matters of constant occurrence in Cali- 
fornia. They are got up by men who are at the foot of 
the ladder and in desperate circumstances, just as a new 



TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 185 

political party is started by such men in our own country. 
The only object, of course, is the loaves and fishes ; and 
instead of caucusing, paragraphing, libelling, feasting, prom- 
ising, and lying, as with us, they take muskets and bayonets, 
and seizing upon the presidio and custom-house, divide the 
spoils, and declare a new dynasty. As for justice, they 
know no law but will and fear. A Yankee, who had been 
naturalized, and become a Catholic, and had married in the 
country, was sitting in his house at the Pueblo de los Ange- 
los, with his wife and children, when a Spaniard, with whom 
he had had a difficulty, entered the house, and stabbed him 
to the heart before them all. The murderer was seized by 
some Yankees who had settled there, and kept in confine- 
ment until a statement of the whole affair could be sent to 
the governor-general. He refused to do anything about it, 
and the countrymen of the murdered man, seeing no pros- 
pect of justice being administered, made known that if 
nothing was done, they should try the man themselves. 
It chanced that, at this time, there was a company of forty 
trappers and hunters from Kentucky, with their rifles, 
who had made their head-quarters at the Pueblo ; and these, 
together with the Americans and Englishmen in the place, 
who were between twenty and thirty in number, took pos- 
session of the town, and waiting a reasonable time, pro- 
ceeded to try the man according to the forms in their own 
country. A judge and jury were appointed, and he was 
tried, convicted, sentenced to be shot, and carried out 
before the town with his eyes blindfolded. The names of 
all the men were then put into a hat, and each one pledging 
himself to perform his duty, twelve names were drawn out, 
and the men took their stations with their rifles, and firing 
at the word, laid him dead. He was decently buried, and 
the place was restored quietly to the proper authorities. 
A general, with titles enough for an hidalgo, was at San 
Gabriel, and issued a proclamation as long as the fore-top- 
bowline, threatening destruction to the rebels, but never 
stirred ifrom his fort; for forty Kentucky hunters, with 



i86 TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 

their rifles, were a match for a whole regiment of hungry, 
drawHng, lazy half-breeds. This affair happened while we 
were at San Pedro (the port of the Pueblo), and we had 
all the particulars directly from those who were on the spot. 
A few months afterwards, another man, whom we had often 
seen in San Diego, murdered a man and his wife on the high 
road between the Pueblo and San Louis Rey, and the for- 
eigners not feeling themselves called upon to act in this case, 
the parties being all natives, nothing was done about it; 
and I frequently afterwards saw the murderer in San Diego, 
where he was living with his wife and family. 

When a crime has been committed by Indians, justice, 
or rather vengeance, is not so tardy. One Sunday after- 
noon, while I was at San Diego, an Indian was sitting on his 
horse, when another, with whom he had had some difficulty, 
came up to him, drew a long knife, and plunged it directly 
into the horse's heart. The Indian sprang from his falling 
horse, drew out the knife, and plunged it into the other 
Indian's breast, over his shoulder, and laid him dead. The 
poor fellow was seized at once, clapped into the calabozo, 
and kept there until an answer could be received from 
Monterey. A few weeks afterwards, I saw the poor wretch, 
sitting on the bare ground, in front of the calabozo, with 
his feet chained to a stake, and the handcuffs about his 
wrists. I knew there was very little hope for him. Al- 
though the deed was done in hot blood, the horse on which 
he was sitting being his own, and a great favorite, yet he 
was an Indian, and that was enough. In about a week 
after I saw him, I heard that he had been shot. These few 
instances serve to give one a notion of the distribution of 
justice in California. 

In their domestic relations, these people are no better 
than in their public. The men are thriftless, proud, and 
extravagant, and very much given to gaming ; and the 
women have but little education. Of the poor Indians, 
very little care is taken. The priests, indeed, at the mis- 
sions, are said to keep them very strictly, and some rules are 



TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 187 

usually made by the alcaldes to punish their misconduct; 
but it all amounts to but little. Intemperance is a common 
vice among the Indians. The Spaniards, on the contrary, 
are very abstemious, and I do not remember ever having 
seen a Spaniard intoxicated. 

Such are the people who inhabit a country embracing 
four or five hundred miles of sea-coast, with several good 
harbors ; with fine forests in the north ; the waters filled 
with fish, and the plains covered with thousands of herds of 
cattle ; blessed vath a climate, than which there can be no 
better in the world; free from all manner of diseases, 
whether epidemic or endemic ; and with a soil in which corn 
yields from seventy to eighty fold. In the hands of an 
enterprising people, what a country this might be ! we are 
ready to say. Yet how long would a people remain so, in 
such a country ? The Americans (as those from the United 
States are called) and Englishmen, who are fast filUng up 
the principal towns, and getting the trade into their hands, 
are indeed more industrious and effective than the Span- 
iards ; yet their children are brought up Spaniards, in every 
respect, and if the ''California fever" (laziness) spares the 
first generation, it always attacks the second. 



CHAPTER XXII 

Saturday, July i8th. This day, sailed the Mexican 
hermaphrodite brig, Fazio, for San Bias and Mazatlan. 
This was the brig which was driven ashore at San Pedro in 
a south-easter, and had been lying at San Diego to repair 
and take in her cargo. The owner of her had had a good 
deal of difficulty with the government about the duties, etc., 
and her sailing had been delayed for several weeks; but 
everything having been arranged, she got under weigh with 
a light breeze, and was floating out of the harbor, when two 
horsemen came dashing down to the beach, at full speed, 
and tried to find a boat to put off after her ; but there being 
none on the beach, they offered a handful of silver to any 
Kanaka who would swim off and take a letter on board. 
One of the Kanakas, a fine, active, well-made young fellow, 
instantly threw off everything but his duck trowsers, and 
putting the letter into his hat, swam off, after the vessel. 
Fortunately, the wind was very light and the vessel was 
going slowly, so that, although she was nearly a mile off 
when he started, he gained on her rapidly. He went 
through the water leaving a wake like a small steamboat. 
I certainly never saw such swimming before. They saw 
him coming from the deck, but did not heave-to, suspecting 
the nature of his errand ; yet, the wind continuing light, 
he swam alongside and got on board, and delivered his let- 
ter. The captain read the letter, told the Kanaka there was 
no answer, and giving him a glass of brandy, left him to 
jump overboard and find the best of his way to the shore. 
The Kanaka swam in for the nearest point of land, and, in 
about an hour, made his appearance at the hide-house. 
He did not seem at all fatigued, had made three or four 
dollars, got a glass of brandy, and was in fine spirits. The 




ONE OF THE KANAKAS. PUTTING THE LETTER 
INTO HIS HAT. SWAM OFF AFTER THE VESSEL 



day, saile* 
San Bias anc 
ven ashore at So' 
ying at San Diee 
-.ner of h- •■■ ■■^"^ '•- - ^^ c--^-'^ 
-mental.- i'llies, etc.. 

• od for 
■; shegL 

■f the ha: 

ae beach, -t . .--..• , - -, 
er her ; but there being 

9immd 3HT qwiiTju^ .i-MMW/^ s9W flPai^*^ 

~ " ' * \me, active, well-made younc 



, oranc 
oi his w 
he nearest p' ■"' 
appearanc/' 



iiey saw 

. suspecting 

.,,.._. ...nuing light. 

!>d delivered his ' '• 

icKanal: 



■ur 
.i.lie 



TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 189 

brig kept on her course, and the government officers, who 
had come down to forbid her saihng, went back, each with 
something Hke a flea in his ear, having depended upon ex- 
torting a Kttle more money from the owner. 

It was now nearly three months since the Alert arrived 
at Santa Barbara, and we began to expect her daily. About 
a half a mile behind the hide-house, was a high hill ; and 
every afternoon, as soon as we had done our work, some one 
of us walked up to see if there were any sail in sight, coming 
down before the regular trades, which blow every afternoon. 
Each day, after the latter part of July, we went up the hill, 
and came back disappointed. I was anxious for her arrival, 
for I had been told by letter that the owners in Boston, at 

the request of my friends, had written to Captain T to 

take me on board the Alert, in case she returned to the 
United States before the Pilgrim; and I, of course, wished 
to know whether the order had been received, and what was 
the destination of the ship. One year more or less might 
be of small consequence to others, but it was everything to 
me. It was now just a year since we sailed from Boston, 
and at the shortest, no vessel could expect to get away under 
eight or nine months, which would make our absence two 
years in all. This would be pretty long, but would not be 
fatal. It would not necessarily be decisive of my future 
life. But one year more would settle the matter. I should 
be a sailor for life ; and although I had made up my mind to 
it before I had my letters from home, and was, as I thought, 
quite satisfied ; yet, as soon as an opportunity was held out 
to me of returning, and the prospect of another kind of life 
was opened to me, my anxiety to return, and, at least, to 
have the chance of deciding upon my course for myself, was 
beyond measure. Beside that, I wished to be "equal to 
either fortune," and to qualify myself for an officer's berth, 
and a hide-house was no place to learn seamanship in. I 
had become experienced in hide-curing, and everything 
went on smoothly, and I had many opportunities of becom- 
ing acquainted with the people, and much leisure for reading 



I90 TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 

and studying navigation; yet practical seamanship could 
only be got on board ship ; therefore, I determined to ask 
to be taken on board the ship when she arrived. By the 
first of August, we finished curing all our hides, stored them 
away, cleaned out our vats (in which latter work we spent 
two days, up to our knees in mud and the sediments of six 
months' hide-curing, in a stench which would drive an Irish- 
man from his breakfast), and got in readiness for the arrival 
of the ship, and had another leisure interval of three or 
four weeks; which I spent, as usual, in reading, writing, 
studying, making and mending my clothes, and getting my 
wardrobe in complete readiness, in case I should go on board 
the ship ; and in fishing, ranging the woods with the dogs, 
and in occasional visits to the presidio and mission, A good 
deal of my time was spent in taking care of a little puppy, 
which I had selected from thirty-six, that were born within 
three days of one another, at our house. He was a fine, 
promising pup, with four white paws, and all the rest of his 
body of a dark brown. I built a little kennel for him, 
and kept him fastened there, away from the other dogs, feed- 
ing and disciplining him myself. In a few weeks, I got him 
in complete subjection, and he grew finely, was very much 
attached to me, and bid fair to be one of the leading dogs on 
the beach. I called him Bravo, and the only thing I re- 
gretted at the thought of leaving the beach, was parting 
with him. 

Day after day, we went up the hill, but no ship was to be 
seen, and we began to form all sorts of conjectures as to her 
whereabouts; and the theme of every evening's conversa- 
tion at the different houses, and in our afternoon's paseo 
upon the beach, was, the ship — where she could be — had 
she been to San Francisco ? — how many hides she would 
bring, etc. 

Tuesday, August 2$th. This morning, the officer in 
charge of our house went off beyond the point a fishing, in a 
small canoe with two Kanakas ; and we were sitting quietly 
in our room at the hide-house, when, just before noon, we 



TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 191 

heard a complete yell of " Sail ho ! " breaking out from all 
parts of the beach, at once, — from the Kanakas' oven to 
the Rosa^s house. In an instant, every one was out of his 
house ; and there was a j&ne, tall ship, with royals and sky- 
sails set, bending over before the strong afternoon breeze, 
and coming rapidly round the point. Her yards were 
braced sharp up ; every sail was set, and drew well ; the 
Yankee ensign was flying from her mizen-peak ; and having 
the tide in her favor, she came up like a race-horse. It was 
nearly six months since a new vessel had entered San Diego, 
and of course, every one was on the qui-vive. She certainly 
made a fine appearance. Her light sails were taken in, as 
she passed the low, sandy tongue of land, and clewing up her 
head sails, she rounded handsomely to, under her mizen 
topsail, and let go the anchor at about a cable's length 
from the shore. In a few minutes, the topsail yards were 
manned, and all three of the topsails furled at once. From 
the fore top-gallant yard, the men slid down the stay to furl 
the jib, and from the mizen top-gallant yard, by the stay, 
into the main-top, and thence to the yard ; and the men on 
the topsail yards came down the lifts to the yard-arms of 
the courses. The sails were furled with great care, the 
bunts triced up by jiggers, and the jibs stowed in cloth. 
The royal yards were then struck, tackles got upon the yard- 
arms and the stay, the long-boat hoisted out, a large anchor 
carried astern, and the ship moored. Then the captain's 
gig was lowered away from the quarter, and a boat's crew 
of fine lads, between the ages of fourteen and eighteen, 
pulled the captain ashore. The gig was a light whale-boat, 
handsomely painted, and fitted up with cushions, etc., in 
the stern sheets. We immediately attacked the boat's crew, 
and got very thick with them in a few minutes. We 
had much to ask about Boston, their passage out, etc., and 
they were very curious to know about the life we were lead- 
ing upon the beach. One of them offered to exchange with 
me ; which was just what I wanted ; and we had only to 
get the permission of the captain. 



192 TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 

After dinner, the crew began discharging their hides, 
and, as we had nothing to do at the hide-houses, we were 
ordered aboard to help them, I had now my first oppor- 
tunity of seeing the ship which I hoped was to be my home 
for the next year. She looked as well on board as she did 
from without. Her decks were wide and roomy (there be- 
ing no poop, or house on deck, which disfigures the after 
part of most of our vessels), flush, fore and aft, and as white 
as snow, which the crew told us was from constant use of 
holystones. There was no foolish gilding and gingerbread 
work, to take the eye of landsmen and passengers, but 
everything was ''ship-shape and Bristol fashion." There 
was no rust, no dirt, no rigging hanging slack, no fag ends 
of ropes and "Irish pendants" aloft, and the yards were 
squared " to a. t" by lifts and braces. The mate was a fine, 
hearty, noisy fellow, with a voice like a lion, and always 
wide awake. He was "a man, every inch of him," as the 
sailors said; and though "a bit of a horse," and "a hard 
customer," yet he was generally liked by the crew. There 
was also a second and third mate, a carpenter, sailmaker, 
steward, cook, etc., and twelve, including boys, before the 
mast. She had, on board, seven thousand hides, which she 
had collected at the windward, and also horns and tallow. 
All these we began discharging, from both gangways at 
once, into the two boats, the second mate having charge of 
the launch, and the third mate of the pinnace. For 
several days, we were employed in this way, until all the 
hides were taken out, when the crew began taking in 
ballast, and we returned to our old work, hide-curing, 

Saturday, Aug. 2gth. Arrived, brig Catalina, from the 
windward. 

Sunday, 7,oth. This was the first Sunday that the crew 
had been in San Diego, and of course they were all for going 
up to see the town. The Indians came down early, with 
horses to let for the day, and all the crew, who could obtain 
liberty, went off to the presidio and mission, and did not 
return until night. I had seen enough of San Diego, and 



TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 193 

went on board and spent the day with some of the crew, 
whom I found quietly at work in the forecastle, mending 
and washing their clothes, and reading and writing. They 
told me that the ship stopped at Callao in the passage out, 
and there lay three weeks. She had a passage of a little 
over eighty days from Boston to Callao, which is one of the 
shortest on record. There, they left the Brandywine frig- 
ate, and other smaller American ships of war, and the Eng- 
lish frigate Blonde, and a French seventy-four. From Cal- 
lao they came directly to California, and had visited every 
port on the coast, including San Francisco. The forecastle 
in which they lived was large, tolerably well lighted by bulls- 
eyes, and, being kept perfectly clean, had quite a com- 
fortable appearance; at least, it was far better than the 
little, black, dirty hole in which I had lived so many months 
on board the Pilgrim. By the regulations of the ship, the 
forecastle was cleaned out every morning, and the crew, 
being very neat, kept it clean by some regulations of their 
own, such as having a large spit-box always under the steps 
and between the bits, and obliging every man to hang up 
his wet clothes, etc. In addition to this, it was holystoned 
every Saturday morning. In the after part of the ship was 
a handsome cabin, a dining-room, and a trade-room, fitted 
out with shelves and furnished with all sorts of goods. Be- 
tween these and the forecastle was the "between-decks," 
as high as the gun deck of a frigate ; being six feet and a half, 
under the beams. These between-decks were holystoned 
regularly, and kept in the most perfect order ; the carpen- 
ter's bench and tools being in one part, the sailmaker's in 
another, and boatswain's locker, with the spare rigging, in 
a third. A part of the crew slept here, in hammocks swung 
fore and aft from the beams, and triced up every morning. 
The sides of the between-decks were clapboarded, the knees 
and stanchions of iron, and the latter made to unship. The 
crew said she was as tight as a drum, and a fine sea boat, 
her only fault being, that of most fast ships, — that she was 
wet, forward. When she was going, as she sometimes 



194 TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 

would, eight or nine knots on a wind, there would not be a 
dry spot forward of the gangway. The men told great 
stories of her sailing, and had great confidence in her as a 
"lucky ship." She was seven years old, and had always 
been in the Canton trade, and never had met with an acci- 
dent of any consequence, and had never made a passage 
that was not shorter than the average. The third mate, 
a young man of about eighteen years of age, nephew of one 
of the owners, had been in the ship from a small boy, and 
''believed in the ship"; and the chief mate thought more 
of her than he would of a wife and family. 

The ship lay about a week longer in port, when, having 
discharged her cargo and taken in ballast, she prepared to 
get under weigh. I now made my application to the captain 
to go on board. He told me that I could go home in the 
ship when she sailed (which I knew before) ; and, finding 
that I wished to be on board while she was on the coast, 
said he had no objection, if I could find one of my own age 
to exchange with me, for the time. This, I easily accom- 
plished, for they were glad to change the scene by a few 
months on shore, and, moreover, escape the winter and the 
south-easters ; and I went on board the next day, with my 
chest and hammock, and found myself once more afloat. 



CHAPTER XXIII 

Tuesday, Sept. 8th. This was my first day's duty on 
board the ship ; and though a sailor's life is a sailor's life 
wherever it may be, yet I found everything very different 
here from the customs of the brig Pilgrim. After all hands 
were called, at daybreak, three minutes and a half were 
allowed for every man to dress and come on deck, and if 
any were longer than that, they were sure to be overhauled 
by the mate, who was always on deck, and making himself 
heard all over the ship. The head-pump was then rigged, 
and the decks washed down by the second and third mates ; 
the chief mate walking the quarter-deck and keeping a 
general supervision, but not deigning to touch a bucket 
or a brush. Inside and out, fore and aft, upper deck and 
between-decks, steerage and forecastle, rail, bulwarks, and 
water-ways, were washed, scrubbed, and scraped with 
brooms and canvas, and the decks were wet and sanded 
all over, and then holystoned. The holystone is a large, 
soft stone, smooth on the bottom, with long ropes attached 
to each end, by which the crew keep it sliding fore and aft, 
over the wet, sanded decks. Smaller hand-stones, which 
the sailors call "prayer-books," are used to scrub in among 
the crevices and narrow places, where the large holystone 
will not go. An hour or two, we were kept at this work, 
when the head-pump was manned, and all the sand washed 
off the decks and sides. Then came swabs and squilgees; 
and after the decks were dry, each one went to his particular 
morning job. There were five boats belonging to the ship, 
— launch, pinnace, jolly-boat, larboard, quarter-boat, 
and gig, — each of which had a coxswain, who had charge 
of it, and was answerable for the order and cleanness of it. 
The rest of the cleaning was divided among the crew ; caie 

I9S 



196 TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 

ha\-mg the brass and composition work about the capstan ; 
another the bell, which was of brass, and kept as bright as 
a gilt button ; a third, the harness-cask, another, the man- 
rope stanchions; others, the steps of the forecastle and 
hatchways, which were hauled up and holystoned. Each 
of these jobs must be finished before breakfast ; and. in 
the mean time, the rest of the crew filled the scuttle-butt, 
and the cook scraped his kids (wooden tubs out of which 
the sailors eat) and polished the hoops, and placed 
them before the galley, to await inspection. "\Mien the 
decks were dry, the lord paramount made his appearance 
on the quarter-deck, and took a few turns, when eight bells 
were struck, and all hands went to breakfast. Half an 
hour was allowed for breakfast, when all hands were called 
again; the kids, pots, bread-bags, etc., stowed away; and, 
this morning, preparations were made for getting under 
weigh. We paid out on the chain by which we swung; hove 
in on the other; catted the anchor; and hove short on the 
first. This work was done in shorter time than was usual 
on board the brig ; for though everything was more than 
twice as large and heavy, the cat-block being as much as a 
man could Hft, and the chain as large as three of the Pil- 
grim's, 3'et there was a plenty of room to move about in, 
more discipline and system, more men, and more good will. 
Ever}" one seemed ambitious to do his best : ofi&cers and 
men knew their duty, and all went weU. As soon as she 
was hove short, the mate, on the forecastle, gave the order 
to loose the sails, and, in an instant, every one sprung into 
the rigging, up the shrouds, and out on the yards, scram- 
bling by one another, — the first up the best fellow, — cast 
off the yard-arm gaskets and bunt gaskets, and one man 
remained on each yard, holding the bunt jigger with, a turn 
round the tye, all ready to let go, while the rest laid down 
to man the sheets and halyards. The mate then hailed 
the yards — "AU ready forward ?" — "Ail ready the cross- 
jack yards?" etc.; and "Aye, aye, sir!" being returned 
from each, the word was given to let go ; and in the twin- 



TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 197 

klfng of an eye, the ship, which had shown nothing but her 
bare yards, was covered with her loose canvas, from the 
royal-mast-heads to the decks. Every one then laid down, 
except one man in each top, to overhaul the rigging, and 
the topsails were hoisted and sheeted home ; all three yards 
going to the mast-head at once, the larboard watch hoist- 
ing the fore, the starboard watch the main, and five light 
hands (of whom I was one), picked from the two watches, 
the mizen. The yards were then trimmed, the anchor 
weighed, the cat-block hooked on, the fall stretched out, 
manned by "all hands and the cook," and the anchor 
brought to the head with "cheerily men!" in full chorus. 
The ship being now under weigh, the light sails were set, 
one after another, and she was under full sail, before she 
had passed the sandy point. The fore royal, which fell to 
my lot (being in the mate's watch), was more than twice as 
large as that of the Pilgrim, and, though I could handle 
the brig's easily, I found my hands full, with this, especially 
as there were no jacks to the ship; everything being for 
neatness, and nothing left for Jack to hold on by, but his 
eyelids. 

As soon as we were beyond the point, and all sail out, 
the order was given, "Go below the watch !" and the crew 
said that, ever since they had been on the coast, they had 
had "watch and watch," while going from port to port; 
and, in fact, everything showed that, though strict disci- 
pline was kept, and the utmost was required of every man, 
in the way of his duty, yet, on the whole, there was very 
good usage on board. Each one knew that he must be a 
man, and show himself smart when at his duty, yet every 
one was satisfied with the usage ; and a contented crew, 
agreeing with one another, and finding no fault, was a con- 
trast indeed with the small, hard-used, dissatisfied, grum- 
bling, desponding crew of the Pilgrim. 

It being the turn of our watch to go below, the men went 
to work, mending their clothes, and doing other little things 
for themselves ; and I, having got my wardrobe in complete 



igS TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 

order at San Diego, had nothing to do but to read. I ac- 
cordingly overhauled the chests of the crew, but found 
nothing that suited me exactly, until one of the men said 
he had a book which *'told all about a great highwayman," 
at the bottom of his chest, and producing it, I found, to my 
surprise and joy, that it was nothing else than Bulwer's 
Paul Clifford. This, I seized immediately, and going to my 
hammock, lay there, swinging and reading, until the watch 
was out. The between-decks were clear, the hatchways 
open, and a cool breeze blowing through them, the ship 
under easy way, and everything comfortable. I had just 
got well into the story, when eight bells were struck, and 
we were all ordered to dinner. After dinner came our watch 
on deck for four hours, and, at four o'clock, I went be- 
low again, turned into my hammock, and read imtil the 
dog watch. As no lights were allowed after eight o'clock, 
there was no reading in the night watch. Having light 
winds and calms, we were three days on the passage, and 
each watch below, during the daytime, I spent in the same 
manner, until I had finished my book. I shall never forget 
the enjoyment I derived from it. To come across anything 
with the slightest claims to literary merit, was so unusual, 
that this was a perfect feast to me. The brilliancy of the 
book, the succession of capital hits, lively and characteristic 
sketches, kept me in a constant state of pleasing sensa- 
tions. It was far too good for a sailor. I could not 
expect such fine times to last long. 

While on deck, the regular work of the ship went on. 
The sailmaker and carpenter worked between decks, and 
the crew had their work to do upon the rigging, drawing 
yarns, making spun-yarns, etc., as usual in merchantmen. 
The night watches were much more pleasant than on board 
the Pilgrim. There, there were so few in a watch, that, one 
being at the wheel, and another on the look-out, there was 
no one left to talk with ; but here, we had seven in a watch, 
so that we had long yarns, in abundance. After two or 
three night watches, I became quite well acquainted with 



TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 199 

all the larboard watch. The sailmaker was the head man 
of the watch, and was generally considered the most ex- 
perienced seaman on board. He was a thoroughbred old 
man-of-war's-man, had been to sea twenty-two years, in 
all kinds of vessels, — men-of-war, privateers, slavers, 
and merchantmen ; — everything except whalers, which a 
thorough sailor despises, and will always steer clear of, if 
he can. He had, of course, been in all parts of the world, 
and was remarkable for drawing a long bow. His yarns 
frequently stretched through a watch, and kept all hands 
awake. They were always amusing from their improb- 
ability, and, indeed, he never expected to be believed, 
but spun them merely for amusement ; and as he had some 
humor and a good supply of man-of-war slang and sailor's 
salt phrases, he always made fun. Next to him in age and 
experience, and, of course, in standing in the watch, was an 
Englishman, named Harris, of whom I shall have more to 
say hereafter. Then, came two or three Americans, who 
had been the common run of European and South American 
voyages, and one who had been in a *'spouter," and, of 
course, had all the whaling stories to himself. Last of all, 
was a broad-backed, thick-headed boy from Cape Cod, 
who had been in mackerel schooners, and was making his 
first voyage in a square-rigged vessel. He was born in 
Hingham, and of course was called "Bucket-maker." 
The other watch was composed of about the same number. 
A tall, fine-looking Frenchman, with coal-black whiskers 
and curly hair, a first-rate seaman, and named John (one 
name is enough for a sailor), was the head man of the watch. 
Then came two Americans (one of whom had been a dis- 
sipated young man of property and family, and was reduced 
to duck trowsers and monthly wages), a German, an Eng- 
lish lad, named Ben, who belonged on the mizen topsail yard 
with me, and was a good sailor for his years, and two Boston 
boys just from the public schools. The carpenter some- 
times mustered in the starboard watch, and was an oM sea- 
dog, a Swede by birth, and accounted the best helmsman 



200 TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 

in the ship. This was our ship's company, beside cook and 
steward, who were blacks, three mates, and the captain. 

The second day out, the wind drew ahead, and we had 
to beat up the coast ; so that, in tacking ship, I could see 
the regulations of the vessel. Instead of going wherever 
was most convenient, and running from place to place, 
wherever work was to be done, each man had his station. 
A regular tacking and wearing bill was made out. The chief 
mate commanded on the forecastle, and had charge of the 
head sails and the forward part of the ship. Two of the best 
men in the ship — the sailmaker from our watch, and John, 
the Frenchman, from the other, worked the forecastle. 
The third mate commanded in the waist, and, mth the 
carpenter and one man, worked the main tack and bowHne ; 
the cook, ex-officio, the fore sheet, and the steward the main. 
The second mate had charge of the after yards and let go the 
lee fore and main braces. I was stationed at the weather 
cross-jack braces; three other hght hands at the lee; 
one boy at the spanker-sheet and guy ; a man and a boy at 
the main topsail, top-gallant, and royal braces ; and all the 
rest of the crew — men and boys — tallied on to the main 
brace. Every one here knew his station, must be there 
when all hands were called to put the ship about, and was 
answerable for every rope committed to him. Each man's 
rope must be let go and hauled in at the order, properly 
made fast, and neatly coiled away when the ship was about. 
As soon as all hands are at their stations, the captain, who 
stands on the weather side of the quarter-deck, makes a 
sign to the man at the wheel to put it down, and calls out 
"Helm's a lee' !" "Helm's a lee' !" answers the mate on 
the forecastle, and the head sheets are let go. "Raise tacks 
and sheets!" says the captain; "tacks and sheets!" is 
passed forward, and the fore tack and main sheet are let 
go. The next thing is to haul taught for a swing. The 
weather cross-jack braces and the lee main braces are each 
belayed together upon two pins, and ready to be let go, and 
the opposite braces hauled taught. "Main topsail haul 1" 



TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 201 

shouts the captain ; the braces are let go ; and if he has 
taken his time well, the yards swing round like a top ; but 
if he is too late, or too soon, it is like drawing teeth. The 
after yards are then braced up and belayed, the main sheet 
hauled aft, the spanker eased over to leeward, and the men 
from the braces stand by the head yards. "Let go and 
haul ! " says the captain ; the second mate lets go the weather 
fore braces, and the men haul in to leeward. The mate, 
on the forecastle, looks out for the head yards. "Well, the 
fore topsail yard!" "Top-gallant yard's well!" "Royal 
yard too much ! Haul in to windward ! So ! well that!" 
"Wella//.^" Then the starboard watch board the main 
tack, and the larboard watch lay forward and board the 
fore tack and haul down the jib sheet, clapping a tackle 
upon it if it blows very fresh. The after yards are then 
trimmed, the captain generally looking out for them him- 
self. "Well the cross-jack yard !" "Small pull the main 
top-gallant yard!" "Well that!" "Well the mizen top- 
sail yard ! " " Cross- jack yards aU well ! " "Well aU aft ! " 
"Haul taught to windward!" Everything being now 
trimmed and in order, each man coils up the rigging at his 
own station, and the order is given — "Go below the 
watch!" 

During the last twenty-four hours of the passage, we 
beat ofiE and on the land, making a tack about once in four 
hours, so that I had a sufficient opportunity to observe the 
working of the ship ; and certainly, it took no more men to 
brace about this ship's lower yards, which were more than 
fifty feet square, than it did those of the Pilgrim, which were 
not much more than half the size ; so much depends upon 
the manner in which the braces rim, and the state of the 
blocks; and Captain Wilson, of the Ayacucho, who was 
afterwards a passenger with us, upon a trip to windward, 
said he had no doubt that our ship worked two men lighter 
than his brig. 

Friday, Sept. 11. This morning, at four o'clock, went 
below, San Pedro point being about two leagues ahead, and 



202 TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 

the ship going on under studding-sails. In about an hour 
we were waked up by the hauling of the chain about decks, 
and in a few minutes "All hands ahoy !" was called; and 
we were all at work, hauling in and making up the studding- 
sails, overhauling the chain forward, and getting the anchors 
ready. "The Pilgrwi is there at anchor," said some one, 
as we were running about decks ; and taking a moment's 
look over the rail, I saw my old friend, deeply laden, lying at 
anchor inside of the kelp. In coming to anchor, as well as 
in tacking, each one had his station and duty. The light 
sails were clewed up and furled, the courses hauled up, and 
the jibs down ; then came the topsails in the bunthnes, and 
the anchor let go. As soon as she was well at anchor, all 
hands lay aloft to furl the topsails ; and this, I soon found, 
was a great matter on board this ship ; for every sailor 
knows that a vessel is judged of, a good deal, by the furl of 
her sails. The third mate, sailmaker, and the larboard 
watch went upon the fore topsail yard; the second mate, 
carpenter, and the starboard watch upon the main; and 
myself and the Enghsh lad, and the two Boston boys, and 
the young Cape-Cod man, furled the mizen topsail. This 
sail belonged to us altogether, to reef and to furl, and not 
a man was allowed to come upon our yard. The mate took 
us under his special care, frequently making us furl the sail 
over, three or four times, imtil we got the bunt up to a per- 
fect cone, and the whole sail without a wrinkle. As soon 
as each sail was hauled up and the bunt made, the jigger 
was bent on to the slack of the buntlines, and the bunt triced 
up, on deck. The mate then took his place between the 
knight-heads to "twig" the fore, on the windlass to twig 
the main, and at the foot of the main-mast, for the mizen ; 
and if anything was wrong, — too much bunt on one side, 
clues too taught or too slack, or any sail abaft the yard, — 
the whole must be dropped again. When all was right, the 
bunts were triced well up, the yard-arm gaskets passed, so 
as not to leave a wrinkle forward of the yard — short gas- 
kets with turns close together. 



TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 203 

From the moment of letting go the anchor, when the 
captain ceases his care of things, the chief mate is the great 
man. With a voice hke a young Hon, he was hallooing and 
bawling, in all directions, making everything fly, and, at the 
same time, doing everything well. He was quite a contrast 
to the worthy, quiet, unobtrusive mate of the Pilgrim : not 
so estimable a man, perhaps, but a far better mate of a 

vessel ; and the entire change in Captain T 's conduct, 

since he took command of the ship, was owing, no doubt, in 
a great measure, to this fact. If the chief officer wants 
force, discipline slackens, everything gets out of joint, the 
captain interferes continually; that makes a difficulty be- 
tween them, which encourages the crew, and the whole 
ends in a three-sided quarrel. But Mr. Brown (the mate of 
the Alert) wanted no help from anybody ; took everything 
into his own hands ; and was more likely to encroach upon 
the authority of the master, than to need any spurring. 

Captain T gave his directions to the mate in private, 

and except in coming to anchor, getting under weigh, tack- 
ing, reefing topsails, and other "all-hands- work," seldom 
appeared in person. This is the proper state of things, and 
while this lasts, and there is a good understanding aft, 
everything will go on well. 

Having furled all the sails, the royal yards were next to 
be sent down. The English lad and myself sent down the 
main, which was larger than the Pilgrim's main top-gallant 
yard; two more light hands, the fore; and one boy, the 
mizen. This order, we always kept while on the coast; 
sending them up and down every time we came in and went 
out of port. They were all tripped and lowered together, 
the main on the starboard side, and the fore and mizen, to 
port. No sooner was she all snug, than tackles were got up 
on the yards and stays, and the long-boat and pinnace hove 
out. The swinging booms were then guyed out, and the 
boats made fast by geswarps, and everything in harbor 
style. After breakfast, the hatches were taken off, and all 
got ready to receive hides from the Pilgrim. All day, boats 



204 TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 

were passing and repassing, until we had taken her hides 
from her, and left her in ballast trim. These hides made but 
little show in our hold, though they had loaded the Pilgrim 
down to the water's edge. This changing of the hides 
settled the question of the destination of the two vessels, 
which had been one of some speculation to us. We were 
to remain in the leeward ports, while the Pilgrim was to 
sail, the next morning, for San Francisco. After we had 
knocked off work, and cleared up decks for the night, my 

friend S came on board, and spent an hour with me 

in our berth between decks. The Pilgrim's crew envied 
me my place on board the ship, and seemed to think that I 
had got a little to windward of them; especially in the 

matter of going home first. S was determined to go 

home in the Alert, by begging or buying ; if Captain T 

would not let him come on other terms, he would purchase 
an exchange with some one of the crew. The prospect 
of another year after the Alert should sail, was rather "too 
much of the monkey." About seven o'clock, the mate 
came down into the steerage, in fine trim for fun, roused the 
boys out of the berth, turned up the carpenter with his 
fiddle, sent the steward with lights to put in the between- 
decks, and set all hands to dancing. The between-decks 
were high enough to allow of jumping ; and being clear, and 
white, from holystoning, made a fine dancing-hall. Some 
of the Pilgrim's crew were in the forecastle, and we all 
turned-to and had a regular sailor's shufile, till eight bells. 
The Cape-Cod boy could dance the true fisherman's jig, 
barefooted, knocking with his heels, and slapping the decks 
with his bare feet, in time with the music. This was a 
favorite amusement of the mate's, who always stood at the 
steerage door, looking on, and if the boys would not dance, 
he hazed them round with a rope's end, much to the amuse- 
ment of the men. 

The next morning, according to the orders of the agent, 
the Pilgrim set sail for the windward, to be gone three or 
four months. She got under weigh with very little fuss, 



TWO YEARS BEFORE, THE MAST 205 

and came so near us as to throw a letter on board, Captain 
Faucon standing at the tiller himself, and steering her as 

he would a mackerel smack. When Captain T was in 

command of the Pilgrim, there was as much preparation 
and ceremony as there would be in getting a seventy-four 
under weigh. Captain Faucon was a sailor, every inch of 
him ; he knew what a ship was, and was as much at home in 
one, as a cobbler in his stall. I wanted no better proof of 
this than the opinion of the ship's crew, for they had been 
six months under his command, and knew what he was : 
and if sailors allow their captain to be a good seaman, you 
may be sure he is one, for that is a thing they are not always 
ready to say. 

After the Pilgrim left us, we lay three weeks at San Pedro, 
from the nth of September until the 2d of October, en- 
gaged in the usual port duties of landing cargo, taking off 
hides, etc. These duties were much easier, and went on 
much more agreeably, than on board the Pilgrim. "The 
more, the merrier," is the sailor's maxim; and a boat's 
crew of a dozen could take off all the hides brought down in 
a day, without much trouble, by a division of labor; and 
on shore, as well as on board, a good will, and no discontent 
or grumbling, make everything go well. The officer, too, 
who usually went with us, the third mate, was a fine young 
fellow, and made no unnecessary trouble ; so that we gener- 
ally had quite a sociable time, and were glad to be relieved 
from the restraint of the ship. While here, I often thought 
of the miserable, gloomy weeks we had spent in this dull 
place, in the brig ; discontent and hard usage on board, and 
four hands to do all the work on shore. Give me a big ship. 
There is more room, more hands, better outfit, better regu- 
lation, more Hfe, and more company. Another thing was 
better arranged here : we had a regular gig's crew. A Ught 
whale-boat, handsomely painted, and fitted out with stern 
seats, yoke, tiller-ropes, etc., hung on the starboard quarter, 
and was used as the gig. The youngest lad in the ship, a 
Boston boy about thirteen years old, was coxswain of this 



2o6 TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 

boat, and had the entire charge of her, to keep her clean, 
and have her in readiness to go and come at any hour. 
Four light hands, of about the same size and age, of whom 
I was one, formed the crew. Each had his oar and seat 
numbered, and we were obliged to be in our places, have our 
oars scraped white, our tholepins in, and the fenders over 
the side. The bow-man had charge of the boat-hook and 
painter, and the coxswain of the rudder, yoke, and stern- 
sheets. Our duty was to carry the captain and agent about, 
and passengers off and on ; which last was no trifling duty, 
as the people on shore have no boats, and every purchaser, 
from the boy who buys his pair of shoes, to the trader who 
buys his casks and bales, were to be taken off and on, in our 
boat. Some days, when people were coming and going fast, 
we were in the boat, pulling off and on, all day long, with 
hardly time for our meals ; making, as we lay nearly three 
miles from shore, from forty to fifty miles' rowing in a day. 
Still, we thought it the best berth in the ship ; for when the 
gig was employed, we had nothing to do with the cargo, 
except small bundles which the passengers carried with 
them, and no hides to carry, besides the opportunity of 
seeing everybody, making acquaintances, hearing the 
news, etc. Unless the captain or agent were in the boat, we 
had no officer with us, and often had fine times with the 
passengers, who were always willing to talk and joke with 
us. Frequently, too, we were obliged to wait several hours 
on shore ; when we would haul the boat up on the beach, 
and leaving one to watch her, go up to the nearest house, 
or spend the time in strolling about the beach, picking up 
shells, or playing hop-scotch, and other games, on the hard 
sand. The rest of the crew never left the ship, except for 
bringing heavy goods and taking off hides ; and though we 
were always in the water, the surf hardly leaving us a dry 
thread from morning till night, yet we were young, and the 
climate was good, and we thought it much better than the 
quiet, hum-drum drag and pull on board ship. We made 
the acquaintance ' of nearly half CaHfornia ; for, besides 



TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 207 

carrying everybody in our boat, — men, women, and chil- 
dren, — all the messages, letters, and light packages went 
by us, and being known by our dress, we found a ready 
reception everywhere. 

At San Pedro, we had none of this amusement, for, there 
being but one house in the place, we, of course, had but little 
company. All the variety that I had, was riding, once a 
week, to the nearest rancho, to order a bullock down for 
the ship. 

The brig Catalina came in from San Diego, and being 
bound up to windward, we both got under weigh at the same 
time, for a trial of speed up to Santa Barbara, a distance of 
about eighty miles. We hove up and got under sail about 
eleven o'clock at night, with a light land-breeze, which died 
away toward morning, leaving us becalmed only a few miles 
from our anchoring-place. The Catalina, being a small 
vessel, of less than half our size, put out sweeps and got a 
boat ahead, and pulled out to sea, during the night, so that 
she had the sea-breeze earlier and stronger than we did, and 
we had the mortification of seeing her standing up the coast, 
with a fine breeze, the sea all ruffled about her, while we were 
becalmed, in-shore. When the sea-breeze died away, she 
was nearly out of sight ; and, toward the latter part of the 
afternoon, the regular north-west wind set in fresh, we 
braced sharp upon it, took a pull at every sheet, tack, and 
halyard, and stood after her, in fine style, our ship being 
very good upon a taughtened bowline. We had nearly five 
hours of fine sailing, beating up to windward, by long 
stretches in and off shore, and evidently gaining upon the 
Catalina, at every tack. When this breeze left us, we were so 
near as to count the painted ports on her side. Fortunately, 
the wind died away when we were on our inward tack, and 
she on her outward, so we were in-shore, and caught the 
land-breeze first, which came off upon our quarter, about 
the middle of the first watch. All hands were turned up, 
and we set all sail, to the skysails and the royal studding- 
sails ; and with these we glided quietly through the water, 



2o8 TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 

leaving the Catalina, which could not spread so much canvas 
as we, gradually astern, and, by daylight, were off St. 
Buenaventura, and our antagonist nearly out of sight. 
The sea-breeze, however, favored her again, while we were 
becalmed under the headland, and laboring slowly along, 
she was abreast of us by noon. Thus we continued, ahead, 
astern, and abreast of one another, alternately; now, far 
out at sea, and again, close in under the shore. On the third 
morning, we came into the great bay of Santa Barbara, two 
hours behind the brig, and thus lost the bet ; though, if the 
race had been to the point, we should have beaten her by 
five or six hours. This, however, settled the relative sailing 
of the vessels, for it was admitted that although she, being 
small and light, could gain upon us in very light winds, yet 
whenever there was breeze enough to set us agoing, we 
walked away from her like hauling in a line ; and in beating 
to windward, which is the best trial of a vessel, we had much 
the advantage of her. 

Sunday, Oct. 4th. This was the day of our arrival ; and 
somehow or other, our captain always managed not only to 
sail, but to come into port, on a Sunday. The main reason 
for sailing on the Sabbath is not, as many people suppose, 
because Sunday is thought a lucky day, but because it is a 
leisure day. During the six days, the crew are employed 
upon the cargo and other ship's works, and the Sabbath, 
being their only day of rest, whatever additional work can 
be thrown into Sunday, is so much gain to the owners. This 
is the reason of our coasters, packets, etc., sailing on the 
Sabbath. They get six good days' work out of the crew, 
and then throw all the labor of sailing into the Sabbath. 
Thus it was with us, nearly all the time we were on the 
coast, and many of our Sabbaths were lost entirely to us. 
The Catholics on shore have no trading and make no jour- 
neys on Sunday, but the American has no national reli- 
gion, and likes to show his independence of priestcraft by 
doing as he chooses on the Lord's day. 

Santa Barbara looked very much as it did when I left it 



TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 209 

five months before : the long sand beach, with the heavy- 
rollers, breaking upon it in a continual roar, and the httle 
town, imbedded on the plain, girt by its amphitheatre of 
mountains. Day after day, the sun shone clear and bright 
upon the wide bay and the red roofs of the houses ; every- 
thing being as still as death, the people really hardly seeming 
to earn their sun-light. Daylight actually seemed thrown 
away upon them. We had a few visitors, and collected 
about an hundred hides, and every night, at sun-down, the 
gig was sent ashore, to wait for the captain, who spent his 
evenings in the town. We always took our monkey-jackets 
with us and flint and steel, and made a fire on the beach 
with the driftwood and the bushes we pulled from the 
neighboring thickets, and lay down by it, on the sand. 
Sometimes we would stray up to the town, if the captain 
was likely to stay late, and pass the time at some of the 
houses, in which we were almost always well received by 
the inhabitants. Sometimes earlier and sometimes later, 
the captain came down; when, after a good drenching in 
the surf, we went aboard, changed our clothes, and turned 
in for the night — yet not for all the night, for there was the 
anchor watch to stand. 

Tliis leads me to speak of my watchmate for nine months 
— and, taking him all in all, the most remarkable man I 
have ever seen — Tom Harris. An hour, every night, while 
lying in port, Harris and myself had the deck to ourselves, 
and walking fore and aft, night after night, for months, I 
learned his whole character and history, and more about 
foreign nations, the habits of different people, and especially 
the secrets of sailors' lives and hardships, and also of prac- 
tical seamanship (in which he was abundantly capable of 
instructing me), than I could ever have learned elsewhere. 
But the most remarkable thing about him, was the power 
of his mind. His memory was perfect ; seeming to form a 
regular chain, reaching from his earliest childhood up to the 
time I knew him, without one link wanting. His power of 
calculation, too, was remarkable. I called myself pretty 



2IO TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 

quick at figures, and had been through a course of mathe- 
matical studies ; but, working by my head, I was unable to 
keep within sight of this man, who had never been beyond 
his arithmetic : so rapid was his calculation. He carried in 
his head not only a log-book of the whole voyage, in which 
everything was complete and accurate, and from which no 
one ever thought of appeahng, but also an accurate registry 
of all the cargo ; knowing, precisely, where each thing was, 
and how many hides we took in at every port. 

One night, he made a rough calculation of the number of 
hides that could be stowed in the lower hold, between the 
fore and main mast, taking the depth of hold and breadth of 
beam (for he always knew the dimension of every part of 
a ship, before he had been a month on board) , and the aver- 
age area and thickness of a hide; he came surprisingly 
near the number, as it afterwards turned out. The mate 
frequently came to him to know the capacity of different 
parts of the vessel, and he could tell the sailmaker very 
nearly the amount of canvas he would want for each sail 
in the ship ; for he knew the hoist of every mast, and spread 
of every sail, on the head and foot, in feet and inches. 
When we were at sea, he kept a running account, in his 
head, of the ship's way — the number of knots and the 
courses ; and, if the courses did not vary much during the 
twenty-four hours, by taking the whole progress, and 
allowing so many eighths southing or northing, to so many 
easting or westing; he would make up his reckoning just 
before the captain took the sun at noon, and often came 
wonderfully near the mark. Calculation of all kinds was 
his dehght. He had, in his chest, several volumes giving 
accounts of inventions in mechanics, which he read with 
great pleasure, and made himself master of. I doubt if he 
ever forgot anything that he read. The only thing in the 
way of poetry that he ever read was Falconer's Shipwreck, 
which he was delighted with, and whole pages of which he 
could repeat. He knew the name of every sailor that had 
ever been his shipmate, and also, of every vessel, captain, and 



TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 211 

officer, and the principal dates of each voyage ; and a sailor 
whom we afterwards fell in with, who had been in a ship 
with Harris nearly twelve years before, was very much 
surprised at having Harris tell him things about himself 
which he had entirely forgotten. His facts, whether dates 
or events, no one thought of disputing; and his opinions, 
few of the sailors dared to oppose; for,, right or wrong, 
he always had the best of the argument with them. His 
reasoning powers were remarkable. I have had harder 
work maintaining an argument with him in a watch, even 
when I knew myself to be right, and he was only doubting, 
than I ever had before ; not from his obstinacy, but from 
his acuteness. Give him only a little knowledge of his 
subject, and, certainly, among all the young men of my 
acquaintance and standing at college, there was not one 
whom I had not rather meet, than this man. I never 
answered a question from him, or advanced an opinion to 
him, without thinking more than once. With an iron 
memory, he seemed to have your whole past conversation 
at command, and if you said a thing now which ill agreed 
with something said months before, he was sure to have you 
on the hip. In fact, I always felt, when with him, that I 
was with no common man. I had a positive respect for his 
powers of mind, and felt often that if half the pains had 
been spent upon his education which are thrown away, 
yearly, in our colleges, he would have been a man of great 
weight in society. Like most self-taught men, he over- 
estimated the value of an education ; and this I often told 
him, though I profited by it myself ; for he always treated 
me with respect, and often unnecessarily gave way to me, 
from an over-estimate of my knowledge. For the capacities 
of all the rest of the crew, captain and all, he had the most 
sovereign contempt. He was a far better sailor, and prob- 
ably a better navigator, than the captain, and had more 
brains than all the after part of the ship put together. The 
sailors said, ''Tom's got a head as long as the bowsprit," 
and if any one got into an argument with him, they would 



212 TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 

call out — "Ah, Jack ! you'd better drop that, as you would 
a hot potato, for Tom will turn you inside out before you 
know it." 

I recollect his posing me once on the subject of the Corn 
Laws. I was called to stand my watch, and, coming on 
deck, found him there before me ; and we began, as usual, 
to walk fore and aft, in the waist. He talked about the 
corn laws ; asked me my opinion about them, which I gave 
him ; and my reasons ; my small stock of which I set forth 
to the best advantage, supposing his knowledge on the sub- 
ject must be less than mine, if, indeed, he had any at all. 
When I had got through, he took the liberty of differing 
from me, and, to my surprise, brought arguments and facts 
connected with the subject which were new to me, and to 
which I was entirely unable to reply. I confessed that I 
knew almost nothing of the subject, and expressed my sur- 
prise at the extent of his information. He said that, a num- 
ber of years before, while at a boarding-house in Liverpool, 
he had fallen in with a pamphlet on the subject, and, as it 
contained calculations, had read it very carefully, and had 
ever since wished to find some one who could add to his 
stock of knowledge on the question. Although it was 
many years since he had seen the book, and it was a subject 
with which he had had no previous acquaintance, yet he 
had the chain of reasoning, founded upon principles of 
political economy, perfect in his memory ; and his facts, so 
far as I could judge, were correct ; at least, he stated them 
with great precision. The principles of the steam engine, 
too, he was very familiar with, having been several months 
on board of a steamboat, and made himself master of its 
secrets. He knew every lunar star in both hemispheres, 
and was a perfect master of his quadrant and sextant. 
Such was the man, who, at forty, was still a dog before the 
mast, at twelve dollars a month. The reason of this was to 
be found in his whole past Kfe, as I had it, at different 
times, from himself. 

He was an Englishman, by birth, a native of Ilfracomb, 



TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 213 

in Cornwall. His father was skipper of a small coaster, 
from Bristol, and dying, left him, when quite young, to the 
care of his mother, by whose exertions he received a com- 
mon-school education, passing his winters at school and his 
summers in the coasting trade, until his seventeenth year, 
when he left home to go upon foreign voyages. Of this 
mother, he often spoke with the greatest respect, and said 
that she was a strong-minded woman, and had the best 
system of education he had ever known; a system which 
had made respectable men of his three brothers, and failed 
only in him, from his own indomitable obstinacy. One 
thing he often mentioned, in which he said his mother dif- 
fered from all other mothers that he had ever seen discipUn- 
ing their children ; that was, that when he was out of humor 
and refused to eat, instead of putting his plate away, as most 
mothers would, and saying that his hunger would bring 
him to it, in time, she would stand over him and obHge him 
to eat it — every mouthful of it. It was no fault of hers 
that he was what I saw him ; and so great was his sense of 
gratitude for her efforts, though unsuccessful, that he de- 
termined, at the close of the voyage, to embark for home 
with all the wages he should get, to spend with and for his 
mother, if perchance he should find her alive. 

After leaving home, he had spent nearly twenty years, sail- 
ing upon all sorts of voyages, generally out of the ports 
of New York and Boston. Twenty years of vice ! Every 
sin that a sailor knows, he had gone to the bottom of. 
Several times he had been hauled up in the hospitals, and 
as often, the great strength of his constitution had brought 
him out again in health. Several times, too, from his 
known capacity, he had been promoted to the office of chief 
mate, and as often, his conduct when in port, especially his 
drunkenness, which neither fear nor ambition could induce 
him to abandon, put him back into the forecastle. One 
night, when giving me an account of his life, and lamenting 
the years of manhood he had thrown away, he said that 
there, in the forecastle, at the foot of the steps — a chest 



214 TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 

of old clothes — was the result of twenty-two years of hard 
labor and exposure — worked like a horse, and treated 
like a dog. As he grew older, he began to feel the necessity 
of some provision for his later years, and came gradually to 
the conviction that rum had been his worst enemy. One 
night, in Havana, a young shipmate of his was brought 
aboard drunk, with a dangerous gash in his head, and his 
money and new clothes stripped from him. Harris had 
seen and been in hundreds of such scenes as these, but in 
his then state of mind, it fixed his determination, and he 
resolved never to taste another drop of strong drink, of any 
kind. He signed no pledge, and made no vow, but relied 
on his own strength of purpose. The first thing with him 
was a reason, and then a resolution, and the thing was done. 
The date of his resolution he knew, of course, to the very 
hour. It was three years before I knew him, and during all 
that time, nothing stronger than cider or coffee had passed 
his lips. The sailors never thought of enticing Tom to take 
a glass, any more than they would of talking to the ship's 
compass. He was now a temperate man for life, and capa- 
ble of filling any berth in a ship, and many a high station 
there is on shore which is held by a meaner man. 

He understood the management of a ship upon scientific 
principles, and could give the reason for hauling every rope ; 
and a long experience, added to careful observation at the 
time, and a perfect memory, gave him a knowledge of the 
expedients and resorts in times of hazard, which was re- 
markable, and for which I became much indebted to him, 
as he took the greatest pleasure in opening his stores of 
information to me, in return for what I was enabled to do 
for him. Stories of tyranny and hardship which had 
driven men to piracy ; — of the incredible ignorance of 
masters and mates, and of horrid brutality to the sick, dead, 
and dying ; as well as of the secret knavery and impositions 
practised upon seamen by connivance of the owners, land- 
lords, and officers; all these he had, and I could not but 
believe them ; for men who had known him for fifteen years 



TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 215 

had never taken him even in ati exaggeration, and, as I 
have said, his statements were never disputed. I remember, 
among other things, his speaking of a captain whom I had 
known by report, who never handed a thing to a sailor, but 
put it on deck and kicked it to him ; and of another, who 
was of the best connections in Boston who absolutely 
murdered a lad from Boston that went out with him before 
the mast to Sumatra, by keeping him hard at work while 
ill of the coast fever, and obliging him to sleep in the close 
steerage. (The same captain has since died of the same 
fever on the same coast.) 

In fact, taking together all that I learned from him of 
seamanship, of the history of sailors' lives, of practical 
wisdom, and of human nature under new circumstances, — 
a great history from which many are shut out, — I would 
not part with the hours I spent in the watch with that man 
for any given hours of my life passed in study and social 
intercovurse. 



CHAPTER XXIV 

Sunday, Oct. iith. Set sail this morning for the lee- 
ward ; passed within sight of San Pedro, and, to our great 
joy, did not come to anchor, but kept directly on to San 
Diego, where we arrived and moored ship on 

Thursday, Oct. i$th. Found here the Italian ship La 
Rosa, from the windward, which reported the brig Pilgrim 
at San Francisco, all well. Everything was as quiet here 
as usual. We discharged our hides, horns, and tallow, and 
were ready to sail again on the following Sunday. I went 
ashore to my old quarters, and found the gang at the hide- 
house going on in the even tenor of their way, and spent an 
hour or two, after dark, at the oven, taking a whiff with 
my old Kanaka friends, who really seemed glad to see me 
again, and saluted me as the Aikane of the Kanakas. I was 
grieved to find that my poor dog Bravo was dead. He 
had sickened and died suddenly, the very day after I sailed 
in the Alert. 

Sunday was again, as usual, our sailing day, and we got 
under weigh with a stiff breeze, which reminded us that it 
was the latter part of the autumn, and time to expect 
south-easters once more. We beat up against a strong 
head wind, under reefed topsails, as far as San Juan, where 
we came to anchor nearly three miles from the shore, with 
slip-ropes on our cables, in the old south-easter style of last 
winter. On the passage up, we had an old sea captain on 
board, who had married and settled in California, and had 
not been on salt water for more than fifteen years. He was 
astonished at the changes and improvements that had been 
made in ships, and still more at the manner in which we 
carried sail ; for he was really a little frightened ; and said 
that while we had top-gallant sails on, he should have been 

216 



TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 217 

under reefed topsails. The working of the ship, and her 
progress to windward, seemed to deUght him, for he said 
she went to windward as though she were kedging. 

Tuesday, Oct. 20th. Having got everything ready, we 
set the agent ashore, who went up to the mission to hasten 
down the hides for the next morning. This night we had the 
strictest orders to look out for south-easters ; and the long, 
low clouds seemed rather threatening. But the night 
passed over without any trouble, and early the next morn- 
ing, we hove out the long-boat and pinnace, lowered away 
the quarter-boats, and went ashore to bring off our hides. 
Here we were again, in this romantic spot ; a perpendicular 
hill, twice the height of the ship's mast-head, with a single 
circuitous path to the top, and long sand beach at its base, 
with the swell of the whole Pacific breaking high upon it, 
and our hides ranged in piles on the overhanging summit. 
The captain sent me, who was the only one of the crew that 
had ever been there before, to the top, to count the hides 
and pitch them down. There I stood again, as six months 
before, throwing off the hides, and watching them, pitching 
and scaHng, to the bottom, while the men, dwarfed by the 
distance, were walking to and fro on the beach, carrying 
the hides, as they picked them up, to the distant boats, upon 
the tops of their heads. Two or three boat-loads were sent 
off, until, at last, all were thrown down, and the boats nearly 
loaded again, when we were delayed by a dozen or twenty 
hides which had lodged in the recesses of the hill, and which 
we could not reach by any missiles, as the general line of the 
side was exactly perpendicular, and these places were caved 
in, and could not be seen or reached from the top. As hides 
are worth in Boston twelve and a half cents a pound, and 
the captain's commission was two per cent., he determined 
not to give them up ; and sent on board for a pair of top- 
gallant studding-sail halyards, and requested some one of 
the crew to go to the top, and come down by the halyards. 
The older sailors said the boys, who were Ught and active, 
ought to go, while the boys thought that strength and expe- 



2i8 TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 

rience were necessary. Seeing the dilemma, and feeling 
myself to be near the medium of these requisites, I offered 
my sendees, and went up, with one man to tend the rope, 
and prepared for the descent. 

We found a stake fastened strongly into the groimd, and 
apparently capable of holding my weight, to which we made 
one end of the halyards well fast, and taking the coil, threw 
it over the brink. The end, we saw, just reached to a 
landing-place, from which the descent to the beach was easy. 
Having nothing on but shirt, trowsers, and hat, the common 
sea-rig of warm weather, I had no stripping to do, and 
began my descent, by taking hold of the rope in each hand, 
and slipping down, sometimes with hands and feet round 
the rope, and sometimes breasting off with one hand and 
foot against the precipice, and holding on to the rope with 
the other. In this way I descended until I came to a place 
which shelved in, and in which the hides were lodged. 
Keeping hold of the rope with one hand, I scrambled in, 
and by the other hand and feet succeeded in dislodging all 
the hides, and continued on my way. Just below this place, 
the precipice projected again, and going over the projection, 
I could see nothing below me but the sea and the rocks upon 
which it broke, and a few gulls flying in mid air. I got down 
in safety, pretty well covered with dirt ; and for my pains 
was told, "What a fool you were to risk your life for a half 
a dozen hides !" 

While we were carrying the hides to the boat, I perceived, 
what I had been too busy to observe before, that heavy black 
clouds were rolling up from seaward, a strong swell heaving 
in, and every sign of a south-easter. The captain hurried 
everything. The hides were pitched into the boats ; and, 
with some difficulty, and by wading nearly up to our 
armpits, we got the boats through the surf, and began pull- 
ing aboard. Our gig's crew towed the pinnace astern of 
the gig, and the launch was towed by six men in the jolly- 
boat. The ship was lying three miles off, pitching at her 
anchor, and the farther we pulled, the heavier grew the 



*: 






''-\S3SKiV»i6«li 




KEEPING HOLD OF THE ROPE WITH ONE 
HAND. I SCRAMBLED IN 



^■E MAST 



of the- 
'h one r; 



we saw, j.. 
.escentto the ^_ 
owsers, and hat. 



with r. 
.^ting off ., 
holdmg on 
V:d until I came to a pi-LV 
the hides were lodged. 
iW ras^O^vStdfTe 'aehd;4:0^raa«b!^^ 
Ml S'sij3M/^0Se<iedo'R;a^lodgmg all 
. T'l on mv wav. Just b^^low thi? oiac'' 



and a few gulls flying in 



"-^--;- ' i perceivea, 

observ- leaw black 



ne hides were pitclied into the boats ; and, 
LJaculty, and by wading ne:"' • - '" —- 
got the boats through the surf 
- crew towed th 

'. ~ss to^ed bv ^. .. 

oil, pitching at her 
;ura, the heavier grew the 



TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 219 

swell. Our boat stood nearly up and down several times ; 
the pinnace parted her tow-line, and we expected every 
moment to see the launch swamped. We at length got 
alongside, our boats half full of water ; and now came the 
greatest difficulty of all, — unloading the boats, in a heavy 
sea, which pitched them about so that it was almost im- 
possible to stand in them ; raising them sometimes even with 
the rail, and again dropping them below the bends. With 
great difficulty, we got all the hides aboard and stowed 
under hatches, the yard and stay tackles hooked on, and 
the launch and pinnace hoisted, chocked, and griped. 
The quarter-boats were then hoisted up, and we began 
heaving in on the chain. Getting the anchor was no easy 
work in such a sea, but as we were not coming back to this 
port, the captain determined not to slip. The ship's head 
pitched into the sea, and the water rushed through the 
hawse-holes, and the chain surged so as almost to unship 
the barrel of the windlass. "Hove short, sir!" said the 
mate. "Aye, aye ! Weather-bit your chain and loose 
the topsails ! Make sail on her, men — with a will !" A 
few moments served to loose the topsails, which were furled 
with reefs, to sheet them home, and hoist them up. "Bear 
a hand ! " was the order of the day ; and every one saw the 
necessity of it, for the gale was already upon us. The ship 
broke out her own anchor, which we catted and fished, after 
a fashion, and stood off from the lee shore against a heavy 
head sea, under reefed topsails, fore top-mast stay-sail 
and spanker. The fore course was given to her, which 
helped her a little ; but as she hardly held her own against 
the sea which was setting her to leeward — "Board the 
main tack ! " shouted the captain ; when the tack was 
carried forward and taken to the windlass, and all hands 
called to the handspikes. The great sail bellied out hori- 
zontally as though it would lift up the main stay; the 
blocks rattled and flew about ; but the force of machinery 
was too much for her. "Heave ho ! Heave and pawl ! 
Yo, heave, hearty, ho !" and, in time with the song, by the 



220 TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 

force of twenty strong arms, the windlass came slowly 
round, pawl after pawl, and the weather clue of the sail was 
brought down to the water-ways. The starboard watch 
hauled aft the sheet, and the ship tore through the water 
like a mad horse, quivering and shaking at every joint, and 
dashing from its head the foam, which flew off at every blow, 
yards and yards to leeward. A half hour of such sailing 
served our turn, when the clues of the sail were hauled up, 
the sail furled, and the ship, eased of her press, went more 
quietly on her way. Soon after, the fore-sail was reefed, 
and we mizen-top men were sent up to take another reef 
in the inizen topsail. This was the first time I had taken 
a weather earing, and I felt not a little proud to sit astride 
of the weather yard-arm, pass the earing, and sing out, 
"Haul out to leeward !" From this time until we got to 
Boston, the mate never suffered any one but our own gang 
to go upon the mizen topsail yard, either for reefing or 
furling, and the yoimg Enghsh lad and myself generally 
took the earings between us. 

Having cleared the point and got well out to sea, we 
squared away the yards, made more sail, and stood on, 
nearly before the wind, for San Pedro. It blew strong, 
with some rain, nearly all night, but fell calm toward morn- 
ing, and the gale having gone over, we came- to, — 

Thursday, Oct. 2 2d, at San Pedro, in the old south-easter 
berth, a league from shore, with a slip-rope on the cable, 
reefs in the topsails, and rope-yarns for gaskets. Here 
we lay ten days, with the usual boating, hide-carrying, 
rolling of cargo up the steep hill, walking barefooted over 
stones, and getting drenched in salt water. 

The third day after our arrival, the Rosa came in from San 
Juan, where she went the day after the south-easter. Her 
crew said it was as smooth as a mill-pond, after the gale, 
and she took off nearly a thousand hides, which had been 
brought down for us, and which we lost in consequence of 
the south-easter. This mortified us; not only that an 
Italian ship should have got to windward of us in the trade. 



TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 221 

but because every thousand hides went toward completing 
the forty thousand which we were to collect before we could 
say good-by to CaHfornia. 

While lying here, we shipped one new hand, an English- 
man, of about two or three and twenty, who was quite an 
acquisition, as he proved to be a good sailor, could sing 
tolerably, and, what was of more importance to me, had a 
good education, and a somewhat remarkable history. He 
called himself George P. Marsh ; professed to have been at 
sea from a small boy, and to have served his time in the 
smuggling trade between Germany and the coasts of France 
and England. Thus he accounted for his knowledge of 
the French language, which he spoke and read as well as 
he did English ; but his cutter education would not account 
for his English, which was far too good to have been learned 
in a smuggler; for he wrote an imcommonly handsome 
hand, spoke with great correctness, and frequently, when in 
private talk with me, quoted from books, and showed a 
knowledge of the customs of society, and particularly of the 
formalities of the various English courts of law and of Par- 
liament, which surprised me. Still, he would give no other 
account of himself than that he was educated in a smuggler. 
A man whom we afterwards fell in with, who had been a 
ship-mate of George's a few years before, said that he heard 
at the boarding-house from which they shipped, that George 
had been at a college (probably a naval one, as he knew no 
Latin or Greek), where he learned French and mathematics. 
He was by no means the man by nature that Harris was. 
Harris had made everything of his mind and character in 
spite of obstacles ; while this man had evidently been born 
in a different rank, and educated early in life accordingly, 
but had been a vagabond, and done nothing for himself 
since. What had been given to him by others, was all that 
made him to differ from those about him; while Harris 
had made himself what he was. Neither had George the 
character, strength of mind, acuteness, or memory of Harris ; 
yet there was about him the remains of a pretty good 



222 TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 

education, which enabled him to talk perhaps beyond his 
brains, and a high spirit and sense of honor, which years 
of a dog's life had not broken. After he had been a little 
while on board, we learned from him his remarkable his- 
tory, for the last two years, which we afterwards heard 
confirmed in such a manner, as put the truth of it beyond 
a doubt. 

He sailed from New York in the year 1833, i^ I mistake 
not, before the mast, in the brig Lascar, for Canton. She 
was sold in the East Indies, and he shipped at Manilla, in a 
small schooner, bound on a trading voyage among the La- 
drone and Pelew Islands. On one of the latter islands, their 
schooner was wrecked on a reef, and they were attacked by 
the natives, and, after a desperate resistance, in which all 
their number except the captain, George, and a boy, were 
killed or drowned, they surrendered, and were carried bound, 
in a canoe, to a neighboring island. In about a month after 
this, an opportunity occurred by which one of their number 
might get away. I have forgotten the circumstances, but 
only one could go, and they yielded to the captain, upon his 
promising to send them aid if he escaped. He was success- 
ful in his attempt ; got on board an American vessel, went 
back to Manilla, and thence to America, without making 
any effort for their rescue, or indeed, as George afterwards 
discovered, without even mentioning their case to any one 
in Manilla. The boy that was with George died, and he 
being alone, and there being no chance for his escape, the 
natives soon treated him with kindness, and even with 
attention. They painted him, tattooed his body (for he 
would never consent to be marked in the face or hands), 
gave him two or three wives ; and, in fact, made quite a pet 
of him. In this way, he lived for thirteen months, in a fine 
climate, with a plenty to eat, half naked, and nothing to do. 
He soon, however, became tired, and went round the island, 
on different pretences, to look out for a sail. One day, he 
was out fishing in a small canoe with another man, v/hen he 
saw a large sail to windward, about a league and a half off, 



TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 223 

passing abreast of the island and standing westward. With 
some difficulty, he persuaded the islander to go off with 
him to the ship, promising to return with a good supply of 
rum and tobacco. These articles, which the islanders had 
got a taste of from American traders, were too strong a temp- 
tation for the fellow, and he consented. They paddled off 
in the track of the ship, and lay-to until she came down to 
them. George stepped on board the ship, nearly naked, 
painted from head to foot, and in no way distinguishable 
from his companion until he began to speak. Upon this, 
the people on board were not a little astonished, and having 
learned his story, the captain had him washed and clothed, 
and sending away the poor astonished native with a knife 
or two and some tobacco and calico, took George with him 
on the voyage. This was the ship Cabot, of New York, 
Captain Low. She was bound to Manilla, from across the 
Pacific, and George did seaman's duty in her until her 
arrival in Manilla, when he left her, and shipped in a brig 
bound to the Sandwich Islands. From Oahu, he came, in 
the British brig Clementine, to Monterey, as second officer, 
where, having some difficulty with the captain, he left her, 
and coming down the coast, joined us at San Pedro. Nearly 
six months after this, among some papers we received by an 
arrival from Boston, we found a letter from Captain Low, 
of the Cabot, published immediately upon his arrival at New 
York, and giving all the particulars just as we had them from 
George. The letter was pubKshed for the information of the 
friends of George, and Captain Low added, that he left him 
at Manilla to go to Oahu, and he had heard nothing of him 
since. 

George had an interesting journal of his adventures in the 
Pelew Islands, which he had written out at length, in a 
handsome hand, and in correct English. 



CHAPTER XXV 

Sunday, November ist. Sailed this day (Sunday 
again), for Santa Barbara, where we arrived on the 5th. 
Coming round St. Buenaventura, and nearing the anchor- 
age, we saw two vessels in port, a large full-rigged, and a 
small hermaphrodite brig. The former, the crew said must 
be the Pilgrim; but I had been too long in the Pilgrim to 
be mistaken in her, and I was right in differing from them ; 
for, upon nearer approach, her long, low shear, sharp bows, 
and raking masts, told quite another story. "Man-of-war 
brig," said some of them ; "Baltimore clipper," said others ; 
the Ayacucho, thought I; and soon the broad folds of the 
beautiful banner of St. George, — white field with blood-red 
border and cross, — were displayed from her peak. A few 
minutes put it beyond a doubt, and we were lying by the 
side of the Ayacucho, which had sailed from San Diego about 
nine months before, while we were lying there in the Pilgrim. 
She had since been to Valparaiso, Callao, and the Sandwich 
Islands, and had just come upon the coast. Her boat came 
on board, bringing Captain Wilson ; and in a half an hour 
the news was all over the ship that there was a war between 
the United States and France. Exaggerated accounts 
reached the forecastle. Battles had been fought, a large 
French fleet was in the Pacific, etc. ; and one of the boat's 
crew of the Ayacucho said that when they left Callao, a large 
French frigate and the American frigate Brandywine, which 
were lying there, were going outside to have a battle, and 
that the English frigate Blonde was to be umpire, and see 
fair play. Here was important news for us. Alone, on an 
unprotected coast, without an American man-of-war within 
some thousands of miles, and the prospect of a voyage home 
through the whole length of the Pacific and Atlantic oceans ! 

224 



TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 225 

A French prison seemed a much more probable place of 
destination than the good port of Boston. However, we 
were too salt to believe every yarn that comes into the fore- 
castle, and waited to hear the truth of the matter from 
higher authority. By means of the supercargo's clerk, I 
got the amount of the matter, which was, that the govern- 
ments had had a difficulty about the payment of a debt; 
that war had been threatened and prepa^-ed for, but not 
actually declared, although it was pretty generally antici- 
pated. This was not quite so bad, yet was no small cause 
of anxiety. But we cared very Httle about the matter our- 
selves. "Happy go lucky " with Jack ! We did not believe 
that a French prison would be much worse than "hide- 
droghing" on the coast of California ; and no one who has 
not been a long, dull voyage, shut up in one ship, can con- 
ceive of the effect of monotony upon one's thoughts and 
wishes. The prospect of a change is like a green spot in a 
desert, and the remotest probability of great events and 
exciting scenes gives a feeling of delight, and sets life in 
motion, so as to give a pleasure, which any one not in the 
same state would be entirely unable to account for. In fact, 
a more jovial night we had not passed in the forecastle for 
months. Every one seemed in unaccountably high spirits. 
An undefined anticipation of radical changes, of new scenes, 
and great doings, seemed to have possessed every one- 
and the common drudgery of the vessel appeared contempt, 
ible. Here was a new vein opened : a grand theme of con- 
versation and a topic for all sorts of discussions. National 
feeling was wrought up. Jokes were cracked upon the only 
Frenchman in the ship, and comparisons made between 
"old horse" and "soup meagre," etc. 

We remained in uncertainty as to this war for more than 
two months, when an arrival from the Sandwich Islands 
brought us the news of an amicable arrangement of the 
difficulties. 

The other vessel which we found in port was the her- 
maphrodite brig Avon, from the Sandwich Islands. She 
Q 



226 TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 

was fitted up in handsome style ; fired a gun and ran her 
ensign up and down at sun-rise and sun-set ; had a band of 
four or five pieces of music on board, and appeared rather 
Hke a pleasure yacht than a trader ; yet, in connection with 
the Loriotte, Clementine, Bolivar, Convoy, and other small 
vessels, belonging to sundry Americans at Oahu, she carried 
on a great trade — legal and illegal — in otter skins, silks, 
teas, specie, etc. 

The second day after our arrival, a full-rigged brig came 
round the point from the northward, sailed leisurely through 
the bay, and stood off again for the south-east, in the direc- 
tion of the large island of Catalina. The next day the Avon 
got under weigh, and stood in the same direction, bound for 
San Pedro. This might do for marines and Californians, 
but we knew the ropes too well. The brig was never again 
seen on the coast, and the Avon arrived at San Pedro in 
about a week, with a full cargo of Canton and American 
goods. 

This was one of the means of escaping the heavy duties 
the Mexicans lay upon all imports. A vessel comes on the 
coast, enters a moderate cargo at Monterey, which is the 
only custom-house, and commences trading. In a month 
or more, having sold a large part of her cargo, she stretches 
over to Catalina, or other of the large uninhabited islands 
which lie off the coast, in a trip from port to port, and sup- 
plies herself with choice goods from a vessel from Oahu, 
which has been lying off and on the islands, waiting for her. 
Two days after the sailing of the A von, the Loriotte came in 
from the leeward, and without doubt had also a snatch at 
the brig's cargo. 

Tuesday, Nov. loth. Going ashore, as usual, in the gig, 
just before sun-down, to bring off the captain, we found, 
upon taking in the captain and pulling off again, that our 
ship, which lay the farthest out, had run up her ensign. 
This meant "Sail ho !" of course, but as we were within the 
point, we could see nothing. "Give way, boys! Give 
way ! Lay out on your oars, and long stroke !" said the 



TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 227 

captain ; and stretching to the whole length of our arms, 
bending back again, so that our backs touched the thwarts, 
we sent her through the water like a rocket. A few minutes 
of such pulling opened the islands, one after another, in 
range of the point, and gave us a view of the Canal, where 
was a ship, under top-gallant-sails, standing in, with a 
light breeze, for the anchorage. Putting the boat's head 
in the direction of the ship, the captain told us to lay out 
again ; and we needed no spurring, for the prospect of board- 
ing a new ship, perhaps from home, hearing the news, and 
having something to tell of when we got back, was excite- 
ment enough for us, and we gave way, with a will. Captain 
Nye, of the Loriotte, who had been an old whaleman, was 
in the stern-sheets, and fell mightily into the spirit of it. 
"Bend your backs and break your oars !" said he. ''Lay 
me on, Captain Bunker !" "There she flukes !" and other 
exclamations, peculiar to whalemen. In the mean time, it 
fell flat calm, and being within a couple of miles of the ship, 
we expected to board her in a few moments, when a sudden 
breeze sprung up, dead ahead for the ship, and she braced up 
and stood off toward the islands, sharp on the larboard tack, 
making good way through the water. This, of course, 
brought us up, and we had only to "ease larboard oars; 
pull round starboard !" and go aboard the Alert, with some- 
thing very like a flea in the ear. There was a light land- 
breeze all night, and the ship did not come to anchor until 
the next morning. 

As soon as her anchor was down, we went aboard, and 
found her to be the whale-ship, Wilmington and Liverpool 
Packet, of New Bedford, last from the "off-shore ground," 
with nineteen hundred barrels of oil. A " spouter " we knew 
her to be as soon as we saw her, by her cranes and boats, 
and by her stump top-gallant-masts, and a certain slovenly 
look to the sails, rigging, spars, and hull ; and when we got 
on board, we found everything to correspond, — spouter 
fashion. She had a false deck, which was rough and oily, 
and cut up in every direction by the chimes of oil casks; 



228 TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 

her rigging was slack and turning white ; no paint on the 
spars or blocks ; clumsy seizings and straps without covers, 
and homeward-bound sphces in every direction. Her 
crew, too, were not in much better order. Her captain was 
a slab-sided, shamble-legged Quaker, in a suit of brown, 
with a broad-brimmed hat, and sneaking about decks, like a 
sheep, with his head down ; and the men looked more like 
fishermen and farmers than they did like sailors. 

Though it was by no means cold weather (we having on 
only our red shirts and duck trowsers), they all had on 
woollen trowsers — not blue and ship-shape — but of all 
colors — brown, drab, grey, aye, and green, with suspenders 
over their shoulders, and pockets to put their hands in. 
This, added to guernsey frocks, striped comforters about 
the neck, thick cowhide boots, woollen caps, and a strong, 
oily smell, and a decidedly green look, will complete the 
description. Eight or ten were on the fore topsail yard 
and as many more in the main, furling the topsails, while 
eight or ten were hanging about the forecastle, doing noth- 
ing. This was a strange sight for a vessel coming to anchor ; 
so we went up to them, to see what was the matter. One 
of them, a stout, hearty-looking fellow, held out his leg 
and said he had the scurvy; another had cut his hand; 
and others had got nearly well, but said that there were 
plenty aloft to furl the sails, so they were sogering on the 
forecastle. There was only one "splicer" on board, a fine- 
looking old tar, who was in the bunt of the fore topsail. 
He was probably the only sailor in the ship, before the mast. 
The mates, of course, and the boat-steerers, and also two or 
three of the crew, had been to sea before, but only whaling 
voyages ; and the greater part of the crew were raw hands, 
just from the bush, as green as cabbages, and had not yet 
got the hay-seed out of their heads. The mizen topsail 
hung in the buntlines until everything was furled forward. 
Thus a crew of thirty men were half an hour in doing 
what would have been done in the Alert, with eighteen hands 
to go aloft, in fifteen or twenty minutes. 



TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 229 

We found they had been at sea six or eight months, and 
had no news to tell us ; so we left them, and promised to 
get liberty to come on board in the evening, for some curi- 
osities, etc. Accordingly, as soon as we were knocked off 
in the evening and had got supper, we obtained leave, took 
a boat, and went aboard and spent an hour or two. They 
gave us pieces of whalebone, and the teeth and other parts 
of curious sea animals, and we exchanged books with them 
— a practice very common among ships in foreign ports, 
by which you get rid of the books you have read and re-read, 
and a supply of new ones in their stead, and Jack is not very 
nice as to their comparative value. 

Thursday, Nov. 1 2th. This day was quite cool in the early 
part, and there were black clouds about ; but as it was often 
so in the morning, nothing was apprehended, and all the 
captains went ashore together, to spend the day. Towards 
noon, the clouds hung heavily over the mountains, coming 
halfway down the hills that encircle the town of Santa 
Barbara, and a heavy swell rolled in from the south-east. 
The mate immediately ordered the gig's crew away, and, 
at the same time, we saw boats pulhng ashore from the other 
vessels. Here was a grand chance for a rowing match, and 
every one did his best. We passed the boats of the Aya- 
cucho and Loriotte, but could gain nothing upon, and, indeed, 
hardly hold our own with, the long, six-oared, boat of the 
whale-ship. They reached the breakers before us ; but here 
we had the advantage of them, for, not being used to the 
surf, they were obliged to wait to see us beach our boat, just 
as, in the same place, nearly a year before, we, in the Pil- 
grim, were glad to be taught by a boat's crew of Kanakas. 

We had hardly got the boats beached, and their heads 
out, before our old friend, Bill Jackson, the handsome 
English sailor, who steered the Loriotte's boat, called out 
that the brig was adrift ; and, sure enough, she was dragging 
her anchors, and drifting down into the bight of the bay. 
Without waiting for the captain (for there was no one on 
board but the mate and steward), he sprung into the boat, 



230 TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 

called the Kanakas together, and tried to put off. But the 
Kanakas, though capital water dogs, were frightened by 
their vessel's being adrift, and by the emergency of the case, 
and seemed to lose their faculty. Twice, their boat filled, 
and came broadside upon the beach. Jackson swore at 
them for a parcel of savages, and promised to flog every one 
of them. This made the matter no better ; when we came 
forward, told the Kanakas to take their seats in the boat, 
and, going two on each side, walked out with her till it was 
up to our shoulders, and gave them a shove, when, giving 
way with their oars, they got her safely into the long, regular 
swell. In the mean time, boats had put off from our ship 
and the whaler, and coming all on board the brig together, 
they let go the other anchor, paid out chain, braced the 
yards to the wind, and brought the vessel up. 

In a few minutes, the captains came hurrying down, on 
the run; and there was no time to be lost, for the gale 
promised to be a severe one, and the surf was breaking upon 
the beach, three deep, higher and higher every instant. 
The Ayacucho's boat, pulled by four Kanakas, put off first, 
and as they had no rudder or steering oar, would probably 
never have got off, had we not waded out with them, as far 
as the surf would permit. The next that made the attempt 
was the whale-boat, for we, being the most experienced 
"beach-combers," needed no help, and staid till the last. 
Whalemen make the best boats' crews in the world for a 
long pull, but this landing was new to them, and notwith- 
standing the examples they had had, they slued round and 
were hove up — boat, oars, and men — all together, high 
and dry upon the sand. The second time, they filled, and 
had to turn their boat over, and set her off again. We could 
be of no help to them, for they were so many as to be in one 
another's way, without the addition of our numbers. The 
third time, they got off, though not without shipping a sea 
which drenched them all, and half filled their boat, keeping 
them baling, until they reached their ship. We now got 
ready to go off, putting the boat's head out ; English Ben 



TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 231 

and I, who were the largest, standing on each side of the 
bows, to keep her "head on" to the sea, two more shipping 
and manning the two after oars, and the captain taking the 
steering oar. Two or three Spaniards, who stood upon the 
beach looking at us, wrapped their cloaks about them, 
shook their heads and muttered, "Caramba !" They had 
no taste for such doing; in fact, the hydrophobia is a 
national malady, and shows itself in their persons as well as 
their actions. 

Watching for a "smooth chance," we determined to show 
the other boats the way it should be done ; and, as soon as 
ours floated, ran out with her, keeping her head on, with all 
our strength, and the help of the captain's oar, and the two 
after oarsmen giving way regularly and strongly, until our 
feet were off the ground, we tumbled into the bows, keeping 
perfectly still, from fear of hindering the others. For some 
time it was doubtful how it would go. The boat stood 
nearly up and down in the water, and the sea, rolling from 
under her, let her fall upon the water with a force which 
seemed almost to stave he^bottom in. By quietly sliding 
two oars forward, along the thwarts, without impeding the 
rowers, we shipped two bow oars, and thus, by the help of 
four oars and the captain's strong arm, we got safely off, 
though we shipped several seas, which left us half full of 
water. We pulled alongside of the Loriotte, put her skipper 
on board, and found her making preparations for slipping, 
and then pulled aboard our own ship. Here Mr. Brown, 
always "on hand," had got everything ready, so that we 
had only to hook on the gig and hoist it up, when the order 
was given to loose the sails. While we were on the yards, 
we saw the Loriotte under weigh, and before our yards were 
mast-headed, the Ayacucho had spread her wings, and, with 
yards braced sharp up, was standing athwart our hawse. 
There is no prettier sight in the world than a full-rigged, 
clipper-built brig, sailing sharp on the wind. In a moment, 
our slip-rope was gone, the head-yards filled away, and we 
were off. Next came the whaler ; and in a half an hour from 



232. TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 

the time when four vessels were lying quietly at anchor, 
without a rag out, or a sign of motion, the bay was deserted, 
and four white clouds were standing off to sea. Being sure 
of clearing the point, we stood off with our yards a little 
braced in, while the Ayacucho went off with a taught bow- 
line, which brought her to windward of us. During all this 
day, and the greater part of the night, we had the usual 
south-easter entertainment, a gale of wind, variegated and 
finally topped off with a drenching rain of three or four hours. 
At daybreak, the clouds thinned off and rolled away, and 
the sun came up clear. The wind, instead of coming out 
from the northward, as is usual, blew steadily and freshly 
from the ancho ring-ground. This was bad for us, for, being 
*' flying-light," with little more than ballast trim, we were 
in no condition for showing off on a taught bowline, and had 
depended upon a fair wind, with which, by the help of our 
light sails and studding-sails, we meant to have been the 
first at the anchoring-ground ; but the Ayacucho was a good 
league to windward of us, and was standing in, in fine style. 
The whaler, however, was as far to leeward of us, and the 
LorioUe was nearly out of sight, among the islands, up the 
Canal. By hauling every brace and bowline, and clapping 
watch-tackles upon all the sheets and halyards, we managed 
to hold our own, and drop the leeward vessels a little in 
every tack. When we reached the anchoring-ground, the 
Ayacucho had got her anchor, furled her sails, squared her 
yards, and was lying as quietly as if nothing had happened 
for the last twenty-four hours. 

We had our usual good luck in getting our anchor without 
letting go another, and were all snug, with our boats at the 
boom-ends, in half an hour. In about two hours more, 
the whaler came in, and made a clumsy piece of work in 
getting her anchor, being obhged to let go her best bower, 
and finally, to get out a kedge and a hawser. They were 
heave-ho-ing, stopping and unstopping, pawling, catting, 
and fishing for three hours; and the sails hung from the 
yards all the afternoon, and were not furled until sun-down. 



TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 233 

The Loriotte came in just after dark, and let go her anchor, 
making no attempt to pick up the other until the next day. 

This affair led to a great dispute as to the sailing of our 
ship and the Ayacucho. Bets were made between the cap- 
tains, and the crews took it up in their own way ; but as 
she was bound to leeward and we to windward, and mer- 
chant captains cannot deviate, a trial never took place ; and 
perhaps it was well for us that it did not, for the Ayacucho 
had been eight years in the Pacific, in every part of it — 
Valparaiso, Sandwich Islands, Canton, California, and all, 
and was called the fastest merchantman that traded in 
the Pacific, unless it was the brig John Gilpin, and perhaps 
the ship Ann McKim of Baltimore. 

Saturday, Nov. 14th. This day we got under weigh, with 
the agent and several Spaniards of note, as passengers, 
bound up to Monterey. We went ashore in the gig to bring 
them off with their baggage, and found them waiting on the 
beach, and a little afraid about going off, as the surf was 
running very high. This was nuts to us ; for we liked to 
have a Spaniard wet with salt water ; and then the agent 
was very much disliked by the crew, one and all ; and we 
hoped, as there was no officer in the boat, to have a chance 
to duck them ; for we knew that they were such ''marines" 
that they would not know whether it was our fault or not. 
Accordingly, we kept the boat so far from shore as to oblige 
them to wet their feet in getting into her ; and then waited 
for a good high comber, and letting the head slue a Kttle 
round, sent the whole force of the sea into the stern-sheets, 
drenching them from head to feet. The Spaniards sprang 
out of the boat, swore, and shook themselves, and protested 
against trying it again ; and it was with the greatest diffi- 
culty that the agent could prevail upon them to make 
another attempt. The next time we took care, and went 
off easily enough, and pulled aboard. The crew came to 
the side to hoist in their baggage, and we gave them the 
wink, and they heartily enjoyed the half-drowned looks of 
the company. 



234 TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 

Everything being now ready, and the passengers aboard, 
we ran up the ensign and broad pennant (for there was no 
man-of-war, and we were the largest vessel on the coast), 
and the other vessels ran up their ensigns. Having hove 
short, cast off the gaskets, and made the bunt of each sail 
fast by the jigger, with a man on each yard ; at the word, 
the whole canvas of the ship was loosed, and with the great- 
est rapidity possible, everything was sheeted home and 
hoisted up, the anchor tripped and catheaded, and the 
ship under headway. We were determined to show the 
"spouter" how things could be done in a smart ship, with 
a good crew, though not more than half their number. The 
royal yards were all crossed at once, and royals and sky- 
sails set, and, as we had the wind free, the booms were run 
out, and every one was aloft, active as cats, laying out on 
the yards and booms, reeving the studding-sail gear; and 
sail after sail the captain piled upon her, until she was cov- 
ered with canvas, her sails looking like a great white cloud 
resting upon a black speck. Before we doubled the point, 
we were going at a dashing rate, and leaving the shipping 
far astern. We had a fine breeze to take us through the 
Canal, as they call this bay of forty miles long by ten wide. 
The breeze died away at night, and we were becalmed all 
day on Sunday, about halfway between Santa Barbara and 
Point Conception. Sunday night we had a light, fair wind, 
which set us up again ; and having a fine sea-breeze on the 
first part of Monday, we had the prospect of passing, with- 
out any trouble. Point Conception, — the Cape Horn of 
California, where it begins to blow the first of January, and 
blows all the year round. Toward the latter part of the 
afternoon, however, the regular north-west wind, as usual, 
set in, which brought in our studding-sails, and gave us the 
chance of beating round the Point, which we were now just 
abreast of, and which stretched off into the Pacific, high, 
rocky and barren, forming the central point of the coast for 
hundreds of miles north and south. A cap-full of wind 
will be a bag-full here, and before night our royals were 



TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 235 

furled, and the ship was laboring hard under her top-gallant- 
sails. At eight bells our watch went below, leaving her with 
as much sail as she could stagger under, the water flying 
over the forecastle at every plunge. It was evidently 
blowing harder, but then there was not a cloud in the sky, 
and the sun had gone down bright. 

We had been below but a short time, before we had the 
usual premonitions of a coming gale : seas washing over 
the whole forward part of the vessel, and her bows beating 
against them with a force and sound hke the driving of 
piles. The watch, too, seemed very busy trampling about 
decks, and singing out at the ropes. A sailor can always 
tell, by the soimd, what sail is coming in, and, in a short 
time, we heard the top-gallant-sails come in, one after 
another, and then the flying jib. This seemed to ease her 
a good deal, and we were fast going off to the land of Nod, 
when — bang, bang, bang — on the scuttle, and "All hands, 
reef topsails, ahoy!" started us out of our berths; and, 
it not being very cold weather, we had nothing extra to 
put on, and were soon on deck. I shall never forget the 
fineness of the sight. It was a clear, and rather a chilly 
night ; the stars were twinkling with an intense brightness, 
and as far as the eye could reach, there was not a cloud to 
be seen. The horizon met the sea in a defined line. A 
painter could not have painted so clear a sky. There was 
not a speck upon it. Yet it was blowing great guns from 
the north-west. WTien you can see a cloud to windward, 
you feel that there is a place for the wind to come from; 
but here, it seemed to come from nowhere. No person 
could have told, from the heavens, by their eyesight alone, 
that it was not a still summer's night. One reef after an- 
other, we took in the topsails, and before we could get 
them hoisted up, we heard a sound like a short, quick rat- 
tling of thunder, and the jib was blown to atoms out of the 
bolt-rope. We got the topsails set, and the fragments 
of the jib stowed away, and the fore top-mast stay-sail 
set in its place, when the great mainsail gaped open, and 



230 TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 

the sail ripped from head to foot. "Lay up on that main- 
yard and furl the sail, before it blows to tatters !" shouted 
the captain ; and in a moment, we were up, gathering the 
remains of it upon the yard. We got it wrapped round the 
yard, and passed gaskets over it as snugly as possible, and 
were just on deck again, when, mth another loud rent, 
which was heard throughout the ship, the fore topsail, 
which had been double-reefed, split in two, athwartships, 
just below the reef-band, from earing to earing. Here again 
it was down yard, haul out reef-tackles, and lay out upon 
the yard for reefing. By hauling the reef-tackles chock-a- 
block, we took the strain from the other earings, and pass- 
ing the close-reef earing, and knotting the points carefully, 
we succeeded in setting the sail, close-reefed. 

We had but just got the rigging coiled up, and were wait- 
ing to hear ''go below the watch !" when the main royal 
worked loose from the gaskets, and blew directly out to 
leeward, flapping, and shaking the mast like a wand. 
Here was a job for somebody. The royal must come in 
or be cut adrift, or the mast would be snapped short off. 
All the light hands in the starboard watch were sent up, 
one after another, but they could do nothing with it. At 
length, John, the tall Frenchman, the head of the star- 
board watch (and a better sailor never stepped upon a 
deck), sprang aloft, and, by the help of his long arms and 
legs, succeeded, after a hard struggle, — the sail blowing 
over the yard-arm to leeward, and the sky sail blowing 
directly over his head, — in smothering it, and frapping 
it with long pieces of sinnet. He came very near being 
blown or shaken from the yard, several times, but he was 
a true sailor, every finger a fish-hook. Ha\ang made the 
sail snug, he prepared to send the yard down, which was 
a long and difficult job ; for, frequently, he was obliged to 
stop and hold on with all his might, for several minutes, 
the ship pitching so as to make it impossible to do anything 
else at that height. The yard at length came down safe, 
and after it, the fore and mizen royal-yards were sent down. 



TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 237 

All hands were then sent aloft, and for an hour or two we 
were hard at work, making the booms well fast ; unreeving 
the studding-sail and royal and skysail gear; getting roll- 
ing-ropes on the yards; setting up the weather breast- 
backstays; and making other preparations for a storm. 
It was a fine night for a gale ; just cool and bracing enough 
for quick work, without being cold, and as bright as day. 
It was sport to have a gale in such weather as this. Yet 
it blew like a hurricane. The wind seemed to come with 
a spite, an edge to it, which threatened to scrape us off the 
yards. The mere force of the wind was greater than I had 
ever seen it before; but darkness, cold, and wet are the 
worst parts of a storm, to a sailor. 

Having got on deck again, we looked round to see what 
time of night it was, and whose watch. In a few minutes 
the man at the wheel struck four bells, and we found that 
the other watch was out, and our own half out. Accord- 
ingly, the starboard watch went below, and left the ship 
to us for a couple of hours, yet with orders to stand by 
for a call. 

Hardly had they got below, before away went the fore 
top-mast stay-sail, blown to ribands. This was a small sail, 
which we could manage in the watch, so that we were not 
obliged to call up the other watch. We laid out upon the 
bowsprit, where we were under water half the time, and 
took in the fragments of the sail, and as she must have some 
head sail on her, prepared to bend another stay-sail. We 
got the new one out, into the nettings ; seized on the tack, 
sheets, and halyards, and the hanks ; manned the halyards, 
cut adrift the frapping lines, and hoisted away ; but before 
it was halfway up the stay, it was blown all to pieces. 
When we belayed the halyards, there was nothing left 
but the bolt-rope. Now large eyes began to show them- 
selves in the foresail, and knowing that it must soon go, 
the mate ordered us upon the yard to furl it. Being un- 
willing to call up the watch who had been on deck all night, 
he roused out the carpenter, sailmaker, cook, steward, and 



238 TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 

other idlers, and, with their help, we manned the fore-yard, 
and, after nearly half an hour's struggle, mastered the sail, 
and got it well furled round the yard. The force of the 
wind had never been greater than at this moment. In 
going up the rigging, it seemed absolutely to pin us down 
to the shrouds ; and on the yard, there was no such thing 
as turning a face to windward. Yet here was no driving 
sleet, and darkness, and wet, and cold, as off Cape Horn ; 
and instead of a stiff oil-cloth suit, south-wester caps, and 
thick boots, we had on hats, round jackets, duck trowsers, 
light shoes, and everything light and easy. All these things 
make a great difference to a sailor. When we got on deck, 
the man at the wheel struck eight bells (four o'clock in 
the morning), and "All starbowlines, ahoy!" brought the 
other watch up. But there was no going below for us. 
The gale was now at its height, "blowing like scissors 
and thumb-screws;" the captain was on deck; the ship, 
which was light, rolling and pitching as though she would 
shake the long sticks out of her ; and the sails gaping 
open and splitting, in every direction. The mizen topsail, 
which was a comparatively new sail, and close-reefed, 
split, from head to foot, in the bunt ; the fore topsail went, 
in one rent, from clew to earing, and was blowing to tatters ; 
one of the chain bobstays parted ; the sprit-sail yard sprung 
in the slings ; the martingale had slued away off to leeward ; 
and, owing to the long dry weather, the lee rigging hung 
in large bights, at every lurch. One of the main top-gallant 
shrouds had parted ; and, to crown all, the galley had got 
adrift, and gone over to leeward, and the anchor on the lee 
bow had worked loose, and was thumping the side. Here 
was work enough for all hands for half a day. Our gang 
laid out on the mizen topsail yard, and after more than 
half an hour's hard work, furled the sail, though it bellied 
out over our heads, and again, by a slat of the wind, blew 
in under the yard, with a fearful jerk, and almost threw 
us off from the foot-ropes. 

Double gaskets were passed round the yards, rolling 



TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 239 

tackles and other gear bowsed taught, and everything 
made as secure as could be. Coming down, we found the 
rest of the crew just laying down the fore rigging, having 
furled the tattered topsail, or, rather, swathed it round the 
yard, which looked like a broken limb, bandaged. There 
was no sail now on the ship but the spanker and the close- 
reefed main topsail, which still held good. But this was 
too much after sail ; and order was given to furl the spanker. 
The brails were hauled up, and all the light hands in the 
starboard watch sent out on the gaff to pass the gaskets; 
but they could do nothing with it. The second mate swore 
at them for a parcel of "sogers," and sent up a couple of 
the best men ; but they could do no better, and the gaff 
was lowered down. All hands were now employed in setting 
up the lee rigging, fishing the sprit-sail yard, lashing the 
galley, and getting tackles upon the martingale, to bowse 
it to windward. Being in the larboard watch, my duty 
was forward, to assist in setting up the martingale. Three 
of us were out on the martingale guys and back-ropes 
for more than half an hour, carrying out, hooking and 
unhooking the tackles, several times buried in the seas, 
until the mate ordered us in, from fear of our being washed 
off. The anchors were then to be taken up on the rail, 
which kept all hands on the forecastle for an hour, though 
every now and then the seas broke over it, washing the 
rigging off to leeward, filling the lee scuppers breast high, 
and washing chock aft to the taffrail. 

Having got everything secure again, we were promising 
ourselves some breakfast, for it was now nearly nine o'clock 
in the forenoon, when the main topsail showed evident 
signs of giving way. Some sail must be kept on the ship, 
and the captain ordered the fore and main spencer gaffs 
to be lowered down, and the two spencers (which were 
storm sails, brand new, small, and made of the strongest 
canvas) to be got up and bent; leaving the main topsail 
to blow away, with a blessing on it, if it would only last 
until we could set the spencers. These we bent on very 



240 TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 

carefully, with strong robands and seizings, and making 
tackles fast to the clues, bowsed them down to the water- 
ways. By this time the main topsail was among the things 
that have been, and we went aloft to stow away the rem- 
nant of the last sail of all those which were on the ship 
twenty-four hours before. The spencers were now the only 
whole sails on the ship, and being strong and small, and near 
the deck, presenting but little surface to the wind above 
the rail, promised to hold out well. Hove-to under these, 
and eased by having no sail above the tops, the ship rose 
and fell, and drifted off to leeward like a line-of-battle ship. 

It was now eleven o'clock, and the watch was sent below 
to get breakfast, and at eight bells (noon), as everything 
was snug, although the gale had not in the least abated, 
the watch was set, and the other watch and idlers sent 
below. For three days and three nights, the gale con- 
tinued with unabated fury, and with singular regularity. 
There were no lulls, and very little variation in its fierceness. 
Our ship, being light, rolled so as almost to send the fore 
yard-arm under water, and drifted off bodily, to leeward. 
All this time there was not a cloud to be seen in the sky, 
day or night ; — no, not so large as a man's hand. Every 
morning the sun rose cloudless from the sea, and set again 
at night, in the sea, in a flood of light. The stars, too, 
came out of the blue, one after another, night after night, 
unobscured, and twinkled as clear as on a still frosty night 
at home, until the day came upon them. All this time, 
the sea was rolling in immense surges, white with foam, 
as. far as the eye could reach, on every side, for we were now 
leagues and leagues from shore. 

The between-decks being empty, several of us slept there 
in hammocks, which are the best things in the world to 
sleep in during a storm ; it not being true of them, as it is of 
another kind of bed, "when the wind blows, the cradle will 
rock" ; for it is the ship that rocks, while they always hang 
vertically from the beams. During these seventy-two hours 
we had nothing to do, but to turn in and out, four hours 



TWO YEARS BEFORE THE; MAST 241 

on deck, and four below, eat, sleep, and keep watch. The 
watches were only varied by taking the helm in turn, and 
now and then, by one of the sails, which were furled, blov*^- 
ing out of the gaskets, and getting adrift, which sent us 
up on the yards ; and by getting tackles on different parts 
of the rigging, which were slack. Once, the wheel-rope 
parted, which might have been fatal to us, had not the 
chief mate sprung instantly with a relieving tackle to wind- 
ward, and kept the tiller up, till a new one could be rove. 
On the morning of the twentieth, at daybreak, the gale 
had evidently done its worst, and had somewhat abated; 
so much so, that all hands were called to bend new sails, 
although it was still blowing as hard as two common gales. 
One at a time, and with great difficulty and labor, the old 
sails were unbent and sent down by the buntlines, and three 
new topsails, made for the homeward passage round Cape 
Horn, and which had never been bent, were got up from 
the sail-room, and, under the care of the sailmaker, were 
fitted for bending, and sent up by the halyards into the 
tops, and, with stops and frapping lines, were bent to 
the yards, close-reefed, sheeted home, and hoisted. These 
were done one at a time, and with the greatest care and 
difficulty. Two spare courses were then got up and bent 
in the same manner and furled, and a storm-jib, with the 
bonnet off, bent and furled to the boom. It was twelve 
o'clock before we got through ; and five hours of more ex- 
hausting labor I never experienced; and no one of that 
ship's crew, I will venture to say, will ever desire again 
to unbend and bend five large sails, in the teeth of a tre- 
mendous north-wester. Towards night, a few clouds 
appeared in the horizon, and as the gale moderated, the 
usual appearance of driving clouds relieved the face of the 
sky. The fifth day after the commencement of the storm, 
we shook a reef out of each topsail, and set the reefed 
fore-sail, jib and spanker ; but it was not until after eight 
days of reefed topsails that we had a whole sail on the ship ; 
and then it was quite soon enough, for the captain was 



242 TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 

anxious to make up for leeway, the gale having blown us 
half the distance to the Sandwich Islands. 

Inch by inch, as fast as the gale would permit, we made 
sail on the ship, for the wind still continued a-head, and we 
had many days' sailing to get back to the longitude we were 
in when the storm took us. For eight days more we beat 
to windward under a stiff top-gallant breeze, when the wind 
shifted and became variable. A light south-easter, to which 
we could carry a reefed topmast studding-sail, did wonders 
for our dead reckoning. 

Friday, December 4th, after a passage of twenty days, we 
arrived at the mouth of the bay of San Francisco. 



CHAPTER XXVI 

Our place of destination had been Monterey, but as we 
were to the northward of it when the wind hauled a-head, 
we made a fair wind for San Francisco. This large bay, 
which lies in latitude 37° 58', was discovered by Sir Francis 
Drake, and by him represented to be (as indeed it is) a 
magnificent bay, containing several good harbors, great 
depth of water, and surrounded by a fertile and finely- 
wooded country. About thirty miles from the mouth of 
the bay, and on the south-east side, is a high point, upon 
which the presidio is built. Behind this, is the harbor 
in which trading vessels anchor, and near it, the mission of 
San Francisco, and a newly begun settlement, mostly of 
Yankee Californians, called Yerba Buena, which promises 
well. Here, at anchor, and the only vessel, was a brig 
under Russian colors, from Asitka, in Russian America, 
which had come down to winter, and to take in a supply 
of tallow and grain, great quantities of which latter article 
are raised in the missions at the head of the bay. The 
second day after our arrival, we went on board the brig, 
it being Sunday, as a matter of curiosity; and there was 
enough there to gratify it. Though no larger than the Pil- 
grim, she had five or six officers, and a crew of between 
twenty and thirty; and such a stupid and greasy-looking 
set, I certainly never saw before. Although it was quite 
comfortable weather, and we had nothing on but straw hats, 
shirts, and duck trowsers, and were barefooted, they had, 
every man of them, double-soled boots, coming up to the 
knees, and well greased; thick woollen trowsers, frocks, 
waistcoats, pea-jackets, woollen caps, and everything in 
true Nova Zembla rig ; and in the warmest days they made 
no change. The clothing of one of these men would weigh 

243 



244 TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 

nearly as much as that of half our crew. They had brutish 
faces, looked like the antipodes of sailors, and apparently 
dealt in nothing but grease. They lived upon grease; 
ate it, drank it, slept in the midst of it, and their clothes 
were covered with it. To a Russian, grease is the greatest 
luxury. They looked with greedy eyes upon the tallow- 
bags as they were taken into the vessel, and, no doubt, 
would have eaten one up whole, had not the ofiScer kept 
watch over it. The grease seemed actually coming through 
their pores, and out in their hair, and on their faces. It 
seems as if it were this saturation which makes them stand 
cold and rain so well. If they were to go into a warm 
climate, they would all die of the scurvy. 

The vessel was no better than the crew. Everything 
was in the oldest and most inconvenient fashion possible : 
running trusses on the yards, and large hawser cables, coiled 
all over the decks, and served and parcelled in all directions. 
The topmasts, top-gallant-masts, and studding-sail booms 
were nearly black for want of scraping, and the decks would 
have turned the stomach of a man-of-war's-mxan. The 
galley was down in the forecastle ; and there the crew lived, 
in the midst of the steam and grease of the cooking, in a 
place as hot as an oven, and as dirty as a pig-sty. Five 
minutes in the forecastle was enough for us, and we were 
glad to get into the open air. We made some trade with 
them, buying Indian curiosities, of which they had a great 
number; such as bead-work, feathers of birds, fur mocas- 
sins, etc. I purchased a large robe, made of the skins of 
some animal, dried and sewed nicely together, and covered 
all over on the outside with thick downy feathers, taken from 
the breasts of various birds, and arranged with their dif- 
ferent colors, so as to make a brilliant show. 

A few days after our arrival, the rainy season set in, and, 
for three weeks, it rained almost every hour, without cessa- 
tion. This was bad for our trade, for the collecting of hides 
is managed differently in this port from what it is in any 
other on the coast. The mission of San Francisco, near the 



TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 245 

anchorage, has no trade at all, but those of San Jose, Santa 
Clara, and others, situated on large creeks or rivers which 
run into the bay, and distant between fifteen and forty 
miles from the anchorage, do a greater business in hides 
than any in California. Large boats, manned by Indians, 
and capable of carrying nearly a thousand hides apiece, 
are attached to the missions, and sent down to the vessels 
with hides, to bring away goods in return. Some of the 
crews of the vessels are obliged to go and come in the boats, 
to look out for the hides and goods. These are favorite 
expeditions with the sailors, in fine weather; but now, to 
to be gone three or four days, in open boats, in constant rain, 
without any shelter, and with cold food, was hard service. 
Two of our men went up to Santa Clara in one of these 
boats, and were gone three days, during all which time they 
had a constant rain, and did not sleep a wink, but passed 
three long nights, walking fore and aft the boat, in the open 
air. When they got on board, they were completely ex- 
hausted, and took a watch below of twelve hours. All the 
hides, too, that came down in the boats, were soaked with 
water, and unfit to put below, so that we were obhged to 
trice them up to dry, in the intervals of sunshine or wind, 
upon all parts of the vessel. We got up tricing-lines from 
the jib-boom-end to each arm of the fore yard, and thence 
to the main and cross-jack yard-arms. Between the tops, 
too, and the mast-heads, from the fore to the main swifters, 
and thence to the mizen rigging, and in all directions 
athwartships, tricing-lines were run, and strung with hides. 
The head stays and guys, and the sprit-sail yard, were lined, 
and, having still more, we got out the swinging booms, and 
strung them and the forward and after guys, with hides. 
The rail, fore and aft,^ the windlass, capstan, the sides of 
the ship, and every vacant place on deck, were covered 
with wet hides, on the least sign of an interval for drying. 
Our ship was nothing but a mass of hides, from the cat- 
harpins to the water's edge, and from the jib-boom-end to 
the taffrail. 



246 TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 

One cold, rainy evening, about eight o'clock, I received 
orders to get ready to start for San Jose at four the next 
morning, in one of these Indian boats, with four days' 
provisions. I got my oil-cloth clothes, south-wester, and 
thick boots all ready, and turned into my hammock early, 
determined to get some sleep in advance, as the boat was 
to be alongside before daybreak. I slept on till all hands 
were called in the morning; for, fortunately for me, the 
Indians, intentionally, or from mistaking their orders, had 
gone off alone in the night, and were far out of sight. Thus 
I escaped three or four days of very uncomfortable service. 

Four of our men, a few days afterwards, went up in one 
of the quarter-boats to Santa Clara, to carry the agent, 
and remained out all night in a drenching rain, in the small 
boat, where there was not room for them to turn round; 
the agent having gone up to the mission and left the men 
to their fate, making no provision for their accommodation, 
and not even sending them anything to eat. After this, 
they had to pull thirty miles, and when they got on board, 
were so stiff that they could not come up the gangway 
ladder. This filled up the measure of the agent's im- 
popularity, and never after this could he get anything done 
by any of the crew ; and many a delay and vexation, and 
many a good ducking in the surf, did he get to pay up old 
scores, or "square the yards with the bloody quill-driver." 

Having collected nearly all the hides that were to be 
procured, we began our preparations for taking in a supply 
of wood and water, for both of which San Francisco is 
the best place on the coast. A small island, situated about 
two leagues from the anchorage, called by us "Wood 
Island," and by the Spaniards "Isla de los Angelos," 
was covered with trees to the water's edge; and to this, 
two of our crew, who were Kennebec men, and could handle 
an axe like a plaything, were sent every morning to cut 
wood, with two boys to pile it up for them. In about 
a week, they had cut enough to last us a year, and the 
third mate, with myself and three others, were sent over 



TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 247 

in a large, schooner-rigged, open launch, which we had 
hired of the mission, to take in the wood, and bring it to 
the ship. We left the ship about noon, but, owing to a 
strong head wind, and a tide, which here runs four or five 
knots, did not get into the harbor, formed by two points of 
the island, where the boats lie, until sun-down. No sooner 
had we come-to, than a strong south-easter, which had been 
threatening us all day, set in, with heavy rain and a chilly 
atmosphere. We were in rather a bad situation : an open 
boat, a heavy rain, and a long night ; for in winter, in this 
latitude, it was dark nearly fifteen hours. Taking a small 
skiff which we had brought with us, we went ashore, but 
found no shelter, for everything was open to the rain, and 
collecting a little wood, which we found by lifting up the 
leaves and brush, and a few mussels, we put aboard again, 
and made the best preparations in our power for passing 
the night. We unbent the mainsail, and formed an awning 
with it over the after part of the boat, made a bed of wet 
logs of wood, and, with our jackets on, lay down, about six 
o'clock, to sleep. Finding the rain running down upon us, 
and our jackets getting wet through, and the rough, knotty 
logs rather indifferent couches, we turned out ; and taking 
an iron pan which we brought with us, we wiped it out 
dry, put some stones around it, cut the wet bark from some 
sticks, and striking a light, made a small fire in the pan. 
Keeping some sticks near, to dry, and covering the whole 
over with a roof of boards, we kept up a small fire, by which 
we cooked our mussels, and eat them, rather for an occupa- 
tion than from hunger. Still, it was not ten o'clock, and 
the night was long before us, when one of the party pro- 
duced an old pack of Spanish cards from his monkey-jacket 
pocket, which we hailed as a great windfall; and keeping 
a dim, flickering hght by our fagots, we played game after 
game, till one or two o'clock, when, becoming really tired, 
we went to our logs again, one sitting up at a time, in turn, 
to keep watch over the fire. Toward morning, the rain 
ceased, and the air became sensibly colder, so that we found 



248 TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 

sleep impossible, and sat up, watching for daybreak. No 
sooner was it Kght than we went ashore, and began our 
preparations for loading our vessel. We were not mis- 
taken in the coldness of the weather, for a white frost was on 
the ground, a thing we had never seen before in CaHfornia, 
and one or two httle puddles of fresh water were skimmed 
over with a thin coat of ice. In this state of the weather, 
and before sun-rise, in the grey of the morning, we had to 
wade off, nearly up to our hips in water, to load the skiff 
with the wood by arms-full. The third mate remained on 
board the launch, two more staid in the skiff, to load and 
manage it, and all the water-work, as usual, fell upon the 
two youngest of us ; and there we were, with frost on the 
ground, wading forward and back, from the beach to the 
boat, with arms-full of wood, barefooted, and our trowsers 
rolled up. When the skiff went off with her load, we could 
only keep our feet from freezing by racing up and down the 
beach on the hard sand, as fast as we could go. We were 
all day at this work, and toward sun-down, having loaded 
the vessel as deep as she would bear, we hove up our anchor, 
and made sail, beating out of the bay. No sooner had we 
got into the large bay, than we found a strong tide setting 
us out to seaward, a thick fog which prevented our seeing 
the ship, and a breeze too light to set us against the tide; 
for we were as deep as a sand-barge. By the utmost ex- 
ertions, we saved ourselves from being carried out to sea, 
and were glad to reach the leewardmost point of the island, 
where we came-to, and prepared to pass another night, 
more imcomfortable than the first, for we were loaded up 
to the gunwale, and had only a choice among logs and 
sticks for a resting-place. The next morning, we made sail 
at slack water, with a fair wind, and got on board by eleven 
o'clock, when all hands were turned-to, to unload and stow 
away the wood, which took till night. 

Having now taken in all our wood, the next morning a 
water-party was ordered off with all the casks. From this 
we escaped, having had a pretty good siege with the wood- 



TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 249 

ing. The water-party were gone three days, during which 
time they narrowly escaped being carried out to sea, and 
passed one day on an island, where one of them shot a deer, 
great numbers of which overrun the islands and hills of San 
Francisco Bay. 

While not off, on these wood and water parties, or up the 
rivers to the missions, we had very easy times on board the 
ship. We were moored, stem and stern, within a cable's 
length of the shore, safe from south-easters, and with very 
little boating to do; and as it rained nearly all the time, 
awnings were put over the hatchways, and all hands sent 
down between-decks, where we were at work, day after day, 
picking oakum, until we got enough to caulk the ship all 
over, and to last the whole voyage. Then we made a whole 
suit of gaskets for the voyage home, a pair of wheel-ropes 
from strips of green hide, great quantities of spun-yarn, and 
everything else that could be made between decks. It 
being now mid-winter and in high latitude, the nights were 
very long, so that we were not turned-to until seven in the 
morning, and were obliged to knock off at five in the even- 
ing, when we got supper ; which gave us nearly three hours 
before eight bells, at which time the watch was set. 

As we had now been about a year on the coast, it was 
time to think of the voyage home; and knowing that the 
last two or three months of our stay would be very busy 
ones, and that we should never have so good an opportunity 
to work for ourselves as the present, we all employed our 
evenings in making clothes for the passage home, and more 
especially for Cape Horn. As soon as supper was over 
and the kids cleared away, and each one had taken his 
smoke, we seated ourselves on our chests round the lamp, 
which swung from a beam, and each one went to work in 
his own way, some making hats, others trowsers, others 
jackets, etc. ; and no one was idle. The boys who could 
not sew well enough to make their own clothes, laid up 
grass into sinnet, for the men, who sewed for them in return. 
Several of us clubbed together and bought a large piece of 



250 TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 

twilled cotton, which we made into trowsers and jackets, 
and giving them several coats of linseed oil, laid them by 
for Cape Horn. I also sewed and covered a tarpaulin hat, 
thick and strong enough to sit down upon, and made myself 
a complete suit of flannel under-clothing, for bad weather. 
Those who had no south-wester caps, made them, and 
several of the crew made themselves tarpaulin jackets and 
trowsers, Hned on the inside with flannel. Industry was the 
order of the day, and every one did something for himself ; 
for we knew that as the season advanced, and we went 
further south, we should have no evenings to work in. 

Friday, December 2^th. This day was Christmas; and 
as it rained all day long, and there were no hides to take in, 
and nothing especial to do, the captain gave us a holyday 
(the first we had had since leaving Boston), and plum dufi 
for dinner. The Russian brig, following the Old Style, 
had celebrated their Christmas eleven days before; when 
they had a grand blow-out, and (as our men said) drank, 
in the forecastle, a barrel of gin, ate up a bag of tallow, and 
made a soup of the skin. 

Sunday, December zjth. We had now finished all our 
business at this port, and it being Sunday, we unmoored 
ship and got under weigh, firing a salute to the Russian 
brig, and another to the presidio, which were both answered. 
The commandant of the presidio, Don Gaudaloupe Villego, 
a young man, and the most popular, among the Americans 
and EngHsh, of any man in Cahfornia, was on board when 
we got under weigh. He spoke EngHsh very well, and was 
suspected of being favorably inclined to foreigners. 

We sailed down this magnificent bay with a light wind, 
the tide, which was running out, carrying us at the rate of 
four or five knots. It was a fine day; the first of entire 
sunshine we had had for more than a month. We passed 
directly under the high cliff on which the presidio is built, 
and stood into the middle of the bay, from whence we could 
see small bays, making up into the interior, on every side ; 
large and beautifully-wooded islands; and the mouths of 







5,^^ c^ f 







WITH THE GREATEST RAPIDITY POSSIBLE. EVERY- 
THING WAS SHEETED HOME AND HOISTED UP 



thick and 
a, complei 

Those w}i 
severt ■ 

trowst ,,....... ^.. _ 

rider of the day, and. every one did sor 
for we knew ' 
f'lrther soutb 



-.1 coats of J 

■jiaer-civ 
-wester 
ae themselv.. 
iiiside with flaiuic 



jackets, 
oem by 
■in hat, 
myself 
■;..ther. 
- : and 
cts and 



-^^ava^sJ 



This dz\ 
'd there were 
the captaii; 
leaving Boston), an* 
brig,, following the 



t, 



, ate up a b?.'- of tallow, and 



tjjiin. 
3r 2jih. 



brig, and another to th 

The commanda: 

a young iM^, 

-.rcl Englisft^'J 

7/e got und 

?U-SD°cted 



We had non ajii^ac^! 
> port, and it being Sunday, wp ur; ■ 
under w<:-" ' '' ' " 



I.J1 
N'cry weilj and was 
' foreigners. 
; with a Hght win--' 
canying us at ''' - 
ie day; the Sr- 
xiad iiaa for more than a mont 
r the high cliff on which the p 
iie middle of the bay, from v 



TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 251 

several small rivers. If California ever becomes a pros- 
perous country, this bay will be the centre of its prosperity. 
The abundance of wood and water, the extreme fertility 
of its shores, the excellence of its climate, which is as near 
to being perfect as any in the world, and its facilities for 
navigation, affording the best anchoring-grounds in the 
whole western coast of America, all fit it for a place of great 
importance ; and, indeed, it has attracted much attention, 
for the settlement of "Yerba Buena," where we lay at 
anchor, made chiefly by Americans and English, and which 
bids fair to become the most important trading place on the 
coast, at this time began to supply traders, Russian ships, 
and whalers, with their stores of wheat and frijoles. 

The tide leaving us, we came to anchor near the mouth 
of the bay, under a high and beautifully sloping hill, upon 
which herds of hundreds and hundreds of red deer, and the 
stag, with his high branching antlers, were bounding about, 
looking at us for a moment, and then starting off, affrighted 
at the noises which we made, for the purpose of seeing the 
variety of their beautiful attitudes and motions. 

At midnight, the tide having turned, we hove up our 
anchor and stood out of the bay, with a fine starry heaven 
above us, — the first we had seen for weeks and weeks. 
Before the light northerly winds, which blow here with the 
regularity of trades, we worked slowly along, and made 
Point Ano Nuevo, the northerly point of the Bay of Mon- 
terey, on Monday afternoon. We spoke, going in, the brig 
Diana, of the Sandwich Islands, from the North-west Coast, 
last from Asitka. She was off the point at the same time 
with us, but did not get in to the anchoring-ground until an 
hour or two after us. It was ten o'clock on Tuesday morn- 
ing when we came to anchor. The town looked just as it 
did when I saw it last, which was eleven months before, in 
the brig Pilgrim. The pretty lawn on which it stands, as 
green as sim and rain could make it ; the pine wood on the 
south ; the small river on the north side ; the houses, with 
their white plastered sides and red-tiled roofs, dotted about 



252 TWO YEARS BEFORE THE ^lAST 

en the green ; the low, white presidio, with its soiled, tri- 
colored flag flying, and the discordant din of drums and 
trumpets for the noon parade ; all brought up the scene we 
had witnessed here with so much pleasure nearly a year be- 
fore, when coming from a long voyage, and our unprepos- 
sessing reception at Santa Barbara. It seemed almost like 
comina; to a home. 



I 



CHAPTER XXVII 

The only other vessel in the port was a Russian govern- 
ment bark, from Asitka, moimting eight gmis (four of which 
we found to be Quakers), and having on board the ex- 
governor, who was going in her to Mazatlan, and thence 
over land to Vera Cruz. He offered to take letters, and de- 
liver them to the American consul at Vera Cruz, whence 
they could be easily forwarded to the United States. We 
accordingly made up a packet of letters, almost every one 
writing, and dating them "January ist, 1836." The gov- 
ernor was true to his promise, and they all reached Boston 
before the middle of March ; the shortest commimication 
ever yet made across the country. 

The brig Pilgrim had been lying in Monterey through 
the latter part of November, according to orders, waiting 
for us. Day after day. Captain Faucon went up to the 
hill to look out for us, and at last, gave us up, thinking we 
must have gone down in the gale which we experienced 
off Point Conception, and which had blown with great fury 
over the whole coast, driving ashore several vessels in the 
snuggest ports. An Enghsh brig, which had put into San 
Francisco, lost both her anchors ; the Rosa was driven upon 
a mud bank in San Diego; and the Pilgrim, with great 
difficulty, rode out the gale in Monterey, with three anchors 
a-head. She sailed early in December for San Diego and 
intermedios. 

As we were to be here over Sunday, and Monterey was 
the best place to go ashore on the whole coast, and we had 
had no liberty-day for nearly three months, every one was 
for going ashore. On Sunday morning, as soon as the decks 
were washed, and we had got breakfast, those who had 
obtained liberty began to clean themselves, as it is called, to 

253 



254 TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 

go ashore. A bucket of fresh water apiece, a cake of soap, 
a large coarse towel, and we went to work scrubbing one 
another, on the forecastle. Having gone through this, 
the next thing was to get into the head, — one on each 
side, — with a bucket apiece, and duck one another, by 
drawing up water and heaving over each other, while we 
were stripped to a pair of trowsers. Then came the rigging- 
up. The usual outfit of pumps, white stockings, loose 
white duck trowsers, blue jackets, clean checked shirts, 
black kerchiefs, hats well varnished, with a fathom of black 
ribbon over the left eye, a silk handkerchief flying from the 
outside jacket pocket, and four or five dollars tied up in 
the back of the neckerchief, and we were "all right." One 
of the quarter-boats pulled us ashore, and we streamed up 
to the town. I tried to fijid the church, in order to see the 
worship, but was told that there was no service, except 
a mass early in the morning ; so we went about the town, 
\dsiting the Americans and EngHsh, and the natives whom 
we had known when we were here before. Toward noon 
we procured horses, and rode out to the Carmel mission, 
which is about a league from the town, where we got some- 
thing in the way of a dinner — beef, eggs, frijoles, tortillas, 
and some middling wine — from the mayordomo, who, 
of course, refused to make any charge, as it was the Lord's 
gift, yet received our present, as a gratuity, with a low bow, 
a touch of the hat, and "Dios se lo pague !" 

After this repast, we had a fine run, scouring the whole 
country on our fleet horses, and came into town soon after 
sun-down. Here we found our companions who had re- 
fused to go to ride with us, thinking that a sailor has no 
more business with a horse than a fish has with a balloon. 
They were moored, stem and stern, in a grog-shop, making 
a great noise, with a crowd of Indians and hungry half- 
breeds about them, and with a fair prospect of being stripped 
and dirked, or left to pass the night in the calabozo. With 
a great deal of trouble, we managed to get them down to 
the boats, though not without many angry looks and inter- 



TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 255 

ferences from the Spaniards, who had marked them out for 
their prey. The Diana's crew, — a set of worthless out- 
casts, who had been picked up at the islands from the refuse 
of whale-ships, — were all as drunk as beasts, and had a set- 
to, on the beach, with their captain, who was in no better 
state than themselves. They swore they would not go 
aboard, and went back to the town, were stripped and 
beaten, and lodged in the calabozo, until the next day, when 
the captain bought them out. Our forecastle, as usual 
after a liberty-day, was a scene of tumult all night long, from 
the drunken ones. They had just got to sleep toward morn- 
ing, when they were turned up with the rest, and kept at 
work all day in the water, carrying hides, their heads aching 
so that they could hardly stand. This is sailor's pleasure. 
Nothing worthy of remark happened while we were here, 
except a Httle boxing-match on board our own ship, which 
gave us something to talk about. A broad-backed, big- 
headed Cape Cod boy, about sixteen years old, had been 
playing the bully, for the whole voyage, over a slender, 
dehcate-looking boy, from one of the Boston schools, and 
over whom he had much the advantage, in strength, age, 
and experience in the ship's duty, for this was the first time 
the Boston boy had been on salt water. The latter, how- 
ever, had "picked up his crumbs," was learning his duty, 
and getting strength and confidence daily; and began to 
assert his rights against his oppressor. Still, the other 
was his master, and, by his superior strength, always tackled 
with him and threw him down. One afternoon, before we 
were turned-to, these boys got into a violent squabble in 
the between-decks, when George (the Boston boy) said he 
would fight Nat, if he could have fair play. The chief mate 
heard the noise, dove down the hatchway, hauled them 
both up on deck, and told them to shake hands and have 
no more trouble for the voyage, or else they should fight 
till one gave in for beaten. Finding neither willing to make 
an offer of reconcihation, he called all hands up (for the 
captain was ashore, and he could do as he chose aboard), 



256 TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 

ranged the crew in the waist, marked a line on the deck, 
brought the two boys up to it, making them "toe the 
mark"; then made the bight of a rope fast to a belaying 
pin, and stretched it across the deck, bringing it just above 
their waists. "No striking below the rope!" And there 
they stood, one on each side of it, face to face, and went at 
it like two game-cocks. The Cape Cod boy, Nat, put in his 
double-fisters, starting the blood, and bringing the black 
and blue spots all over the face and arms of the other, whom 
we expected to see give in every moment : but the more 
he was hurt, the better he fought. Time after time he 
was knocked nearly down, but up he came again and faced 
the mark, as bold as a lion, again to take the heavy blows, 
which sounded so as to make one's heart turn \vith pity 
for him. At length he came up to the mark the last time, 
his shirt torn from his body, his face covered with blood 
and bruises, and his eyes flashing fire, and swore he would 
stand there until one or the other was killed, and set-to 
like a young fury. "Hurrah in the bow !" said the men, 
, cheering him on. "Well crowed !" "Never say die, while 
there's a shot in the locker !" Nat tried to close with him, 
knowing his advantage, but the mate stopped that, saying 
there should be fair play, and no fingering. Nat then 
came up to the mark, but looked white about the mouth, 
and his blows were not given with half the spirit of his first. 
He was evidently cowed. He had always been master, 
and had nothing to gain, and everything to lose ; while the 
other fought for honor and freedom, and under a sense of 
wrong. It would not do. It was soon over. Nat gave in ; 
not so much beaten, as cowed and mortified ; and never 
afterwards tried to act the bully on board. We took 
George forward, washed him in the deck- tub, complimented 
his pluck, and from this time he became somebody on board, 
having fought himself into notice. Mr. Brown's plan had 
a good effect, for there was no more quarrelling among the 
boys for the rest of the voyage. 

IVednesday, Ja^iuary 6th. Set sail from Monterey, with 



TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 257 

a number of Spaniards as passengers, and shaped our course 
for Santa Barbara. The Diana went out of the bay in com- 
pany with us, but parted from us off Point Pinos, being 
bound to the Sandwich Islands. We had a smacking breeze 
for several hours, and went along at a great rate, until night, 
when it died away, as usual, and the land-breeze set in, 
which brought us upon a taught bowHne. Among our 
passengers was a young man who was the best representation 
of a decayed gentleman I had ever seen. He reminded 
me much of some of the characters in Gil Bias. He was 
of the aristocracy of the country, his family being of pure 
Spanish blood, and once of great importance in Mexico. 
His father had been governor of the province, and having 
amassed a large property, settled at San Diego, where he 
built a large house with a court-yard in front, kept a great 
retinue of Indians, and set up for the grandee of that part 
of the country. His son was sent to Mexico, where he 
received the best education, and went into the first society 
of the capital. Misfortune, extravagance, and the want 
of funds, or any manner of getting interest on money, soon 
eat the estate up, and Don Juan Bandini returned from 
Mexico accomplished, poor, and proud, and without any 
office or occupation, to lead the life of most young men of 
the better families — dissolute and extravagant when the 
means are at hand; ambitious at heart, and impotent in 
act ; often pinched for bread ; keeping up an appearance of 
style, when their poverty is known to each half-naked 
Indian boy in the street, and they stand in dread of every 
small trader and shopkeeper in the place. He had a slight 
and elegant figure, moved gracefully, danced and waltzed 
beautifully, spoke the best of Castilian, with a pleasant 
and refined voice and accent, and had, throughout, the 
bearing of a man of high birth and figure. Yet here he 
was, with his passage given him (as I afterwards learned), 
for he had not the means of paying for it, and living upon 
the charity of our agent. He was polite to every one, 
spoke to the sailors, and gave four reals — I dare say the 



258 TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 

last he had in his pocket — to the steward, who waited upon 
him. I could not but feel a pity for him, especially when I 
saw him by the side of his fellow-passenger and townsman, 
a fat, coarse, vulgar, pretending fellow of a Yankee trader, 
who had made money in San Diego, and was eating out the 
very vitals of the Bandinis, fattening upon their extrava- 
gance, grinding them in their poverty; having mortgages 
on their lands, forestalling their cattle, and already making 
an inroad upon their jewels, which were their last hope. 

Don Juan had with him a retainer, who was as much 
hke many of the characters in Gil Bias as his master. He 
called himself a private secretary, though there was no 
writing for him to do, and he lived in the steerage with the 
carpenter and sailmaker. He was certainly a character ; 
could read and write extremely well ; spoke good Spanish ; 
had been all over Spanish America, and Hved in every 
possible situation, and served in every conceivable capacity, 
though generally in that of confidential serv^ant to some 
man of figure. I cultivated this man's acquaintance, and 
during the five weeks that he was with us, — for he remained 
on board until we arrived at San Diego, — I gained a greater 
knowledge of the state of poUtical parties in Mexico, and 
the habits and affairs of the different classes of society, 
than I could have learned from almost any one else. He 
took great pains in correcting my Spanish, and supplying 
me with colloquial phrases, and common terms and excla- 
mations in speaking. He lent me a file of late newspapers 
from the city of jMexico, which were full of the triumphal 
reception of Santa Ana, who had just returned from Tam- 
pico after a victory, and with the preparations for his 
expedition against the Texans. "Viva Santa Ana!" 
was the by-word everywhere, and it had even reached Cali- 
fornia, though there were still many here, among whom 
was Don Juan Bandini, who were opposed to his govern- 
ment, and intriguing to bring in Bustamente. Santa 
Ana, they said, was for breaking down the missions ; or, 
as they termed it — "Santa Ana no quiere religion." 



TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 259 

Yet I had no doubt that the office of administrador of San 
Diego would reconcile Don Juan to any dynasty, and any 
state of the church. In these papers, too, I found scraps 
of American and Enghsh news ; but which were so uncon- 
nected, and I was so ignorant of everything preceding them 
for eighteen months past, that they only awakened a curi- 
osity which they could not satisfy. One article spoke of 
Taney as Justicia Mayor de los Estados Unidos (what had 
become of Marshall ? was he dead, or banished ?) and an- 
other made known, by news received from Vera Cruz, that 
"El Vizconde Melbourne" had returned to the office of 
"primer ministro," in place of Sir Roberto Peel. (Sir 
Robert Peel had been minister, then ? and where were Earl 
Grey and the Duke of Wellington?) Here were the out- 
lines of a grand parKamentary overturn, the filling up of 
which I could imagine at my leisure. 

The second morning after leaving Monterey, we were off 
Point Conception. It was a bright, sunny day, and the 
wind, though strong, was fair; and everything was in 
striking contrast with our experience in the same place two 
months before, when we were drifting off from a north- 
wester under a fore and main spencer. "Sail ho !" cried a 
man who was rigging out a top-gallant studding-sail boom. 
— "Where away?" • — "Weather beam, sir !" and in a few 
minutes a full-rigged brig was seen standing out from under 
Point Conception. The studding-sail halyards were let go, 
and the yards boom-ended, the after yards braced aback, 
and we waited her coming down. She rounded to, backed 
her main topsail, and showed her decks full of men, four 
guns on a side, hammock nettings, and everything man-of- 
war fashion, except that there was no boatswain's whistle, 
and no uniforms on the quarter-deck. A short, square- 
built man, in a rough grey jacket, with a speaking-trumpet 
in hand, stood in the weather hammock nettings. "Ship 
ahoy!" — "Hallo!" — "What ship is that, pray?" — 
"Alert," — "Where are you from, pray?" etc. She 
proved to be the brig Convoy, from the Sandwich Islands, 



26o TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 

engaged in otter hunting, among the islands which lie along 
the coast. Her armament was from her being an illegal 
trader. The otter are very numerous among these islands, 
and being of great value, the government requires a heavy 
sum for a license to hunt them, and lays a high duty upon 
every one shot or carried out of the country. This vessel 
had no license, and paid no duty, besides being engaged in 
smuggling goods on board other vessels trading on the coast, 
and belonging to the same owners in Oahu. Our captain 
told him to look out for the Mexicans, but he said they 
had not an armed vessel of his size in the whole Pacific. 
This was without doubt the same vessel that showed her- 
self off Santa Barbara a few months before. These vessels 
frequently remain on the coast for years, without making 
port, except at the islands for wood and water, and an 
occasional visit to Oahu for a new outfit. 

Sunday, January loth. Arrived at Santa Barbara, and 
on the following Wednesday, slipped our cable and went to 
sea, on account of a south-easter. Returned to our anchor- 
age the next day. We were the only vessel in the port. 
The Pilgrim had passed through the Canal and hove-to 
off the town, nearly six weeks before, on her passage down 
from Monterey, and was now at the leeward. She heard 
here of our safe arrival at San Francisco. 

Great preparations were making on shore for the marriage 

of our agent, who was to marry Donna Anneta De G 

De N y C , youngest daughter of Don Antonio 

N , the grandee of the place, and the head of the first 

family in California. Our steward was ashore three days, 
making pastry and cake, and some of the best of our stores 
were sent off with him. On the day appointed for the wed- 
ding, we took the captain ashore in the gig, and had orders 
to come for him at night, with leave to go up to the house 
and see the fandango. Returning on board, we found prepa- 
rations making for a salute. Our guns were loaded and 
run out, men appointed to each, cartridges served out, 
matches lighted, and all the flags ready to be run up. I 



TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 261 

took my place at the starboard after gun, and we all waited 
for the signal from on shore. At ten o'clock the bride went 
up with her sister to the confessional, dressed in deep black. 
Nearly an hour intervened, when the great doors of the 
mission church opened, the bells rang out a loud, discordant 
peal, the private signal for us was run up by the captain 
ashore, the bride, dressed in complete white,,came out of the 
church with the bridegroom, followed by a long procession. 
Just as she stepped from the church door, a small white 
cloud issued from the bows of our ship, which was full in 
sight, the loud report echoed among the surrounding hills 
and over the bay, and instantly the ship was dressed in 
flags and pennants from stem to stern. Twenty-three guns 
followed in regular succession, with an interval of fifteen 
seconds between each, when the cloud cleared away, and 
the ship lay dressed in her colors, all day. At sun-down, 
another salute of the same number of guns was fired, and 
all the flags run down. This we thought was pretty well — 
a gun every fifteen seconds — for a merchantman with 
only four guns and a dozen or twenty men. 

After supper, the gig's crew were called, and we rowed 
ashore, dressed in our uniform, beached the boat, and went 
up to the fandango. The bride's father's house was the 
principal one in the place, with a large court in front, upon 
which a tent was built, capable of containing several hun- 
dred people. As we drew near, we heard the accustomed 
sound of violins and guitars, and saw a great motion of 
the people within. Going in, we found nearly all the people 
of the town — men, women, and children — collected and 
crowded together, leaving barely room for the dancers; 
for on these occasions no invitations are given, but every 
one is expected to come, though there is always a private 
entertainment within the house for particular friends. The 
old women sat down in rows, clapping their hands to the 
music, and applauding the young ones. The music was 
lively, and among the tunes, we recognized several of our 
popular airs, which we, without doubt, have taken from the 



262 TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 

Spanish. In the dancing, I was much disappointed. The 
women stood upright, with their hands down by their sides, 
their eyes fixed upon the ground before them, and sidled 
about without any perceptible means of motion ; for their 
feet were invisible, the hem of their dresses forming a per- 
fect circle about them, reaching to the ground. They 
looked as grave as though they were going through some 
religious ceremony, their faces as little excited as their limbs ; 
and on the whole, instead of the spirited, fascinating Spanish 
dances which I had expected, I found the Californian fan- 
dango, on the part of the women at least, a lifeless affair. 
The men did better. They danced with grace and spirit, 
moving in circles round their nearly stationary partners 
and showing their figures to great advantage. 

A great deal was said about our friend Don Juan Bandini, 
and when he did appear, which was toward the close of the 
evening, he certainly gave us the most graceful dancing that 
I had ever seen. He was dressed in white pantaloons, neatly 
made, a short jacket of dark silk, gaily figured, white stock- 
ings, and thin morocco slippers upon his very small feet. 
His slight and graceful figure was well calculated for danc- 
ing, and he moved about with the grace and daintiness of a 
young fawn. An occasional touch of the toe to the ground, 
seemed all that was necessary to give him a long interval of 
motion in the air. At the same time he was not fantastic or 
flourishing, but appeared to be rather repressing a strong 
tendency to motion. He was loudly applauded, and danced 
frequently toward the close of the evening. After the sup- 
per, the waltzing began, which was confined to a very few 
of the "gente de razon," and was considered a high accom- 
plishment, and a mark of aristocracy. Here, too, Don 
Juan figured greatly, waltzing with the sister of the bride 
(Donna Angustia, a handsome woman and a general favor- 
ite), in a variety of beautiful figures, which lasted as much 
as half an hour, no one else taking the floor. They were 
repeatedly and loudly applauded, the old men and women 
jumping out of their seats in admiration, and the young 



TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 263 

people waving their hats and handkerchiefs. Indeed, 
among people of the character of these Mexicans, the waltz 
seemed to me to have found its right place. The great 
amusement of the evening, — which I suppose was owing 
to its being carnival — was the breaking of eggs filled with 
cologne, or other essences, upon the heads of the company. 
One end of the egg is broken and the inside taken out, then 
it is partly filled with cologne, and the whole sealed up. 
The women bring a great number of these secretly about 
them, and the amusement is to break one upon the head of a 
gentleman when his back is turned. He is bound in gal- 
lantry to find out the lady and return the compliment, 
though it must not be done if the person sees you. A tall, 
stately Don, with immense grey whiskers, and a look of 
great importance, was standing before me, when I felt a 
light hand on my shoulder, and turning round, saw Donna 
Angustia (whom we all knew, as she had been up to Mon- 
terey, and down again, in the Alert), with her finger upon 
her lip, motioning me gently aside. I stepped back a little, 
when she went up behind the Don, and with one hand 
knocked off his huge sombrero, and at the same instant, with 
the other, broke the egg upon his head, and springing behind 
me, was out of sight in a moment. The Don turned slowly 
round, the cologne running down his face, and over his 
clothes, and a loud laugh breaking out from every quarter. 
He looked round in vain, for some time, until the direction 
of so many laughing eyes showed him the fair offender. 
She was his niece, and a great favorite with him, so old 
Don Domingo had to join in the laugh. A great many such 
tricks were played, and many a war of sharp manoeuvering 
was carried on between couples of the younger people, and 
at every successful exploit a general laugh was raised. 

Another singular custom I was for some time at a loss 
about. A pretty yoimg girl was dancing, named, after 
what would appear to us the sacrilegious custom of the 
country — Espiritu Santo, when a young man went behind 
her and placed his hat directly upon her head, letting it fall 



264 TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 

down over her eyes, and sprang back among the crowd. 
She danced for some time with the hat on, when she threw 
it off, which called forth a general shout; and the young 
man was obliged to go out upon the floor and pick it up. 
Some of the ladies, upon whose heads hats had been placed, 
threw them off at once, and a few kept them on throughout 
the dance, and took them off at the end, and held them out 
in their hands, when the owner stepped out, bowed, and 
took it from them. I soon began to suspect the meaning of 
the thing, and was afterwards told that it was a compliment, 
and an offer to become the lady's gallant for the rest of the 
evening, and to wait upon her home. If the hat was thrown 
off, the offer was refused, and the gentleman was obhged 
to pick up his hat amid a general laugh. Much amusement 
was caused sometimes by gentlemen putting hats on the 
ladies' heads, without permitting them to see whom it was 
done by. This obliged them to throw them off, or keep 
them on at a venture, and when they came to discover the 
owner, the laugh was often turned upon them. 

The captain sent for us about ten o'clock, and we went 
aboard in high spirits, having enjoyed the new scene much, 
and were of great importance among the crew, from having 
so much to tell, and from the prospect of going every night 
until it was over; for these fandangos generally last three 
days. The next day, two of us were sent up to the town, 
and took care to come back by way of Capitan Noriego's, 
and take a look into the booth. The musicians were still 
there, upon their platform, scraping and twanging away, 
and a few people, apparently of the lower classes, were 
dancing. The dancing is kept up, at intervals, throughout 
the day, but the crowd, the spirit, and the elite, come in at 
night. The next night, which was the last, we went ashore 
in the same manner, until we got almost tired of the monot- 
onous twang of the instruments, the drawling sounds which 
the women kept up, as an accompanimxcnt, and the slapping 
of the hands in time with the music, in place of castanets. 
We found ourselves as great objects of attention as any 



TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 265 

persons or anything at the place. Our sailor dresses — and 
we took great pains to have them neat and ship-shape — 
were much admired, and we were invited, from every 
quarter, to give them an American sailor's dance ; but after 
the ridiculous figures some of our countrymen cut, in danc- 
ing after the Spaniards, we thought it best to leave it to 
their imaginations. Our agent, with a tight, black, swallow- 
tailed coat, just imported from Boston, a high stiff cravat, 
looking as if he had been pinned and skewered, with only 
his feet and hands left free, took the floor just after Bandini ; 
and we thought they had had enough of Yankee grace. 

The last night they kept it up in great style, and were 
getting into a high-go, when the captain called us off to go 
aboard, for, it being south-easter season, he was afraid to 
remain on shore long ; and it was well he did not, for that 
very night, we slipped our cables, as a crowner to our fun 
ashore, and stood off before a south-easter, which lasted 
twelve hours, and returned to our anchorage the next day. 



CHAPTER XXVIII 

Monday, Feb. ist. After having been in port twenty- 
one days, we sailed for San Pedro, where we arrived on the 
following day, having gone "all fluking," with the weather 
clue of the main-sail hauled up, the yards braced in a little, 
and the lower studding-sail just drawing ; the wind hardly 
shifting a point during the passage. Here we found the 
Ayacucho and the Pilgrim, which last we had not seen since 
the nth of September, — nearly five months ; and I really 
felt something Hke an affection for the old brig which had 
been my first home, and in which I had spent nearly a year, 
and got the first rough and tumble of a sea-life. She, too, 
was associated in my mind with Boston, the wharf from 
which we sailed, anchorage in the stream, leave-taking, and 
all such matters, which were now to me like small links con- 
necting me with another world, which I had once been in, 
and which, please God, I might yet see again. I went on 
board the first night, after supper; found the old cook in 
the galley, playing upon the fife which I had given him, as 
a parting present ; had a hearty shake of the hand from 
him ; and dove down into the forecastle, where were my old 
ship-mates, the same as ever, glad to see me ; for they had 
nearly given us up as lost, especially when they did not 
find us in Santa Barbara. They had been at San Diego 
last, had been lying at San Pedro nearly a month, and had 
received three thousand hides from the pueblo. These were 
taken from her the next day, which filled us up, and we 
both got under weigh on the 4th, she bound up to San 
Francisco again, and we to San Diego, where we arrived on 
the 6th. 

. We were always glad to see San Diego ; it being the depot, 
and a snug little place, and seeming quite like home, espe- 

266 



TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 267 

daily to me, who had spent a summer there. There was no 
vessel in port, the Rosa having sailed for Valparaiso and 
Cadiz, and the Catalina for Callao, nearly a month before. 
We discharged our hides, and in four days were ready to 
sail again for the windward ; and, to our great joy — for 
the last time ! Over thirty thousand hides had been already 
collected, cured, and stowed away in the house, which, to- 
gether with what we should collect, and the Pilgrim would 
bring down from San Francisco, would make out our cargo. 
The thought that we were actually going up for the last time, 
and that the next time we went round San Diego point it 
would be "homeward bound," brought things so near a 
close, that we felt as though we were just there, though it 
must still be the greater part of a year before we could see 
Boston. 

I spent one evening, as had been my custom, at the oven 
with the Sandwich Islanders; but it was far from being 
the usual noisy, laughing time. It has been said, that the 
greatest curse to each of the South Sea islands, was the first 
man who discovered it ; and every one who knows anything 
of the history of our commerce in those parts, knows how 
much truth there is in this ; and that the white men, with 
their vices, have brought in diseases before unknown to the 
islanders, and which are now sweeping off the native popu- 
lation of the Sandwich Islands, at the rate of one fortieth of 
the entire population annually. They seem to be a doomed 
people. The curse of a people calling themselves Christian, 
seems to follow them everywhere; and even here, in this 
obscure place, lay two young islanders, whom I had 
left strong, active young men, in the vigor of health, 
wasting away under a disease, which they would never 
have known but for their intercourse with christianized 
Mexico and people from Christian America. One of them 
was not so ill ; and was moving about, smoking his pipe, and 
talking, and trying to keep up his spirits ; but the other, who 
was my friend, and Aikane — Hope, was the most dreadful 
object I had ever seen in my life : his eyes sunken and dead, 



268 TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 

his cheeks fallen in against his teeth, his hands looking 
like claws ; a dreadful cough, which seemed to rack his whole 
shattered system, a hollow, whispering voice, and an entire 
inability to move himself. There he lay, upon a mat, on 
the ground, which was the only floor of the oven, with no 
medicine, no comforts, and no one to care for, or help him, 
but a few Kanakas, who were willing enough, but could do 
nothing. The sight of him made me sick and faint. Poor 
fellow ! During the four months that I lived upon the 
beach, we were continually together, both in work, and in 
our excursions in the woods, and upon the water. I really 
felt a strong affection for him, and preferred him to any of 
my own countrymen there ; and I believe there was nothing 
which he would not have done for me. When I came into 
the oven he looked at me, held out his hand, and said, in a 
low voice, but with a delightful smile, '^ Aloha, Aikane! 
Aloha nui !" I comforted him as well as I could, and prom- 
ised to ask the captain to help him from the medicine- 
chest, and told him I had no doubt the captain would do 
what he could for him, as he had worked in our employ for 
several years, both on shore and aboard our vessels on the 
coast. I went aboard and turned into my hammock, but 
I could not sleep. 

Thinking, from my education, that I must have some 
knowledge of medicine, the Kanakas had insisted upon my 
examining him carefully ; and it was not a sight to be for- 
gotten. One of our crew, an old man-of-war's-man, of 
twenty years' standing, who had seen sin and suffering in 
every shape, and whom I afterwards took to see Hope, said 
it was dreadfully worse than anything he had ever seen, 
or even dreamed of. He was horror-struck, as his counte- 
nance showed ; yet he had been among the worst cases in 
our naval hospitals. I could not get the thought of the 
poor fellow out of my head all night ; his horrible suffering, 
and his apparently inevitable, horrible end. 

The next day I told the captain of Hope's state, and asked 
him if he would be so kind as to go and see him. 



TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 269 

"What? a Kanaka?" 

"Yes, sir," said I ; "but he has worked four years for our 
vessels, and has been in the employ of our owners, both on 
shore and aboard." 

"Oh ! he be d d !" said the captain, and walked off. 

This same man died afterward of a fever on the deadly 
coast of Sumatra ; and God grant he had better care taken 
of him in his sufferings, than he ever gave to any one else ! 
Finding nothing was to be got from the captain, I con- 
sulted an old ship-mate, who had much experience in these 
matters, and got from him a recipe, which he always kept 
by him. With this I went to the mate, and told him the 
case. Mr. Brown had been entrusted with the general care 
of the medicine-chest, and although a driving fellow, and a 
taught hand in a watch, he had good feelings, and was al- 
ways inclined to be kind to the sick. He said that Hope was 
not strictly one of the crew, but as he was in our employ 
when taken sick, he should have the m.edicines ; and he got 
them and gave them to me, with leave to go ashore at night. 
Nothing could exceed the delight of the Kanakas, when I 
came bringing the medicines. All their terms of affection 
and gratitude were spent upon me, and in a sense wasted (for 
I could not understand half of them), yet they made all 
known by their manner. Poor Hope was so much revived 
at the bare thought of anything's being done for him, that 
he was already stronger and better. I knew he must die 
as he was, and he could but die under the medicines, and 
any chance was worth running. An oven, exposed to every 
wind and change of weather, is no place to take calomel ; 
but nothing else would do, and strong remedies must be 
used, or he was gone. The applications, internal and ex- 
ternal, were powerful, and I gave him strict directions to 
keep warm and sheltered, telling him it was his only chance 
for life. Twice, after this, I visited him, having only time 
to run up, while waiting in the boat. He promised to take 
his medicines regularly until we returned, and insisted upon 
it that he was doing better. 



270 TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 

We got under weigh on the loth, bound up to San Pedro, 
and had three days of calm and head winds, making but 
little progress. On the fourth, we took a stiff south-easter, 
which obliged us to reef our topsails. While on the yard, 
we saw a sail on the weather bow, and in about half an hour, 
passed the Ayacucho, under double-reefed topsails, beating 
down to San Diego. Arrived at San Pedro on the fourth 
day, and came-to in the old place, a league from shore, with 
no other vessel in port, and the prospect of three weeks, or 
more, of dull life, rolling goods up a slippery hill, carrying 
hides on our heads over sharp stones, and, perhaps, slipping 
for a south-easter. 

There was but one man in the only house here, and him 
I shall always remember as a good specimen of a California 
ranger. He had been a tailor in Philadelphia, and getting 
intemperate and in debt, he joined a trapping party and 
went to the Columbia river, and thence down to Monterey, 
where he spent everything, left his party, and came to the 
Pueblo de los Angelos, to work at his trade. Here he went 
dead to leeward among the pulperias, gambling rooms, etc., 
and came down to San Pedro, to be moral by Being out of 
temptation. He had been in the house several weeks, 
working hard at his trade, upon orders which he had brought 
with him, and talked much of his resolution, and opened his 
heart to us about his past life. After we had been here some 
time, he started off one morning, in fine spirits, well dressed, 
to carry the clothes which he had been making to the pueblo, 
and saying he would bring back his money and some fresh 
orders the next day. The next day came, and a week passed 
and nearly a fortnight, when, one day, going ashore, we 
saw a tall man, who looked like our friend the tailor, getting 
out of the back of an Indian's cart, which had just come 
down from the pueblo. He stood for the house, but we 
bore up after him ; when, finding that we were overhauling 
him, he hove-to and spoke us. Such a sight I never saw 
before. Barefooted, with an old pair of trowsers tied round 
his waist by a piece of green hide, a soiled cotton shirt. 




HE PLACED HIS HAT DIRECTLY UPON HER 
HEAD 



TWO YEARS BEFORE T7 T 

We got under ^ the loth, bound up to San Pedro 

and liad thre- ' .i calm and head winds, making but 

little progT.-?c e fourth, we took - ' " '.-easter 

hich obi' of our topsails. - vard' 

^vesawa ' : r bow, and i. .,ur' 

passed th , , r double-rec , , dni 

^own to 'irrived at San ; • fourth 

day, and ■ ■■: old place, a hv. . ith 

no other ^ and the prospe , or 

f^^'" ' ^g goods up a - ai, carrying 

'^ ^^^' '^harp stones, vps, slipping 

' lan in the only house here, and him 
■or as a good specimen of a Cahlornia 
!. tailor in Philadelphia, and getting 
• ■>!, lie joined a trapping party and 
H3H 140W maTDa^ldieli^eFaog^IiHtoCMarftdfty^H 
left ^^Ipftrty, and came to the 
■ ork at his trade. Here he went 
o leeward among the pulperias, gambling rooms, etc., 
.>-.-. . dme down to San Pedro, to be moral by Being out of 
temptation. He had been in the house sevr--i rr ^ 
working hard at his trad 
with him, and talkec' n 

heart to us about hi '-.'^^ 

time, he started off one i essed 

to carry the clothes wh f pueblo' 

and saying he woul ,nd some fresh 

orders the next -^ ,,,,^ a week passed 

^5-^ ^ ' ^ going ashore, we 

",'• ^[^ °ja^' '^^"'•' -^- '^•ur friend the tailor, getting 

■ o^ the back of ,an's cart, which had ^"^^ •" 

•om the pueoio. He stood for the hou 
''"""■ '""'" ■ when, finding that we were o 
I spoke us. Such a sight T 
h an old pair of I 



TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 271 

and a torn Indian hat; "cleaned out," to the last real, 
and completely "used up." He confessed the whole mat- 
ter ; acknowledged that he was on his back ; and now he had 
a prospect of a fit of the horrors for a week, and of being 
worse than useless for months. This is a specimen of the 
life of half of the Americans and English who are adrift over 
the whole of California. One of the same stamp was Rus- 
sell, who was master of the hide-house at San Diego, while I 
was there, and afterwards turned away for his misconduct. 
He spent his own money and nearly all the stores among 
the half-bloods upon the beach, and being turned away, 
went up to the presidio, where he lived the life of a desperate 
"loafer," until some rascally deed sent him off "between 
two days," with men on horseback, dogs, and Indians in full 
cry after him, among the hills. One night, he burst into 
our room at the hide-house, breathless, pale as a ghost, 
covered with mud, and torn by thorns and briers, nearly 
naked, and begged for a crust of bread, saying he had neither 
eaten nor slept for three days. Here was the great Mr. 
Russell, who a month before was "Don Tomas," "Capitan 
de la playa," "Maestro de la casa," etc., begging food 
and shelter of Kanakas and sailors. He staid with us till 
he gave himself up, and was dragged off to the calabozo. 

Another, and a more amusing specimen, was one whom 
we saw at San Francisco. He had been a lad on board the 
ship California, in one of her first voyages, and ran away 
and commenced Ranchero, gambling, stealing horses, etc. 
He worked along up to San Francisco, and was living on a 
rancho near there, while we were in port. One morning, 
when we went ashore in the boat, we found him at the land- 
ing-place, dressed in California style, — a wide hat, faded 
velveteen trowsers, and a blanket cloak thrown over his 
shoulders — • and wishing to go off in the boat, saying he 
was going to pasear with our captain a little. We had 
many doubts of the reception he would meet with ; but he 
seemed to think himself company for any one. We took 
him aboard, landed him at the gangway, and went about our 



272 TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 

work, keeping an eye upon the quarter-deck, where the 
captain was walking. The lad went up to him, with the 
most complete assurance, and raising his hat, wished him 

a good afternoon. Captain T turned round, looked at 

him from head to foot, and saying coolly, "Hallo ! who are 
you?" kept on his walk. This was a rebuff not to be mis- 
taken, and the joke passed about among the crew by winks 
and signs, at different parts of the ship. Finding himself 
disappointed at head-quarters, he edged along forward to the 
mate, who was overseeing some work upon the forecastle, 
and tried to begin a yarn ; but it would not do. The mate 
had seen the reception he had met with aft, and would have 
no cast-off company. The second mate was aloft, and the 
third mate and myself were painting the quarter-boat, 
which hung by the davits, so he betook himself to us ; but 
we looked at one another, and the officer was too busy to say 
a word. From us, he went to one and another of the crew, 
but the joke had got before him, and he found everybody 
busy and silent. Looking over the rail a few moments 
afterward, we saw him at the galley-door, talking with the 
cook. This was a great come-down, from the highest seat 
in the synagogue to a seat in the galley with the black cook. 
At night, too, when supper was called, he stood in the waist 
for some time, hoping to be asked down with the officers, 
but they went below, one after another, and left him. His 
next chance was with the carpenter and sailmaker, and he 
lounged round the after hatchway until the last had gone 
down. We had now had fun enough out of him, and taking 
pity on him, offered him a pot of tea, and a cut at the kid, 
with the rest, in the forecastle. He was hungry, and it was 
growing dark, and he began to see that there was no use in 
playing the caballero any longer, and came down into the 
forecastle, put into the "grub" in sailor's style, threw off 
all his airs, and enjoyed the joke as much as any one: for 
a man must take a joke among sailors. He gave us the 
whole account of his adventures in the country, — roguery 
and all — and was very entertaining. He was a smart. 



TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 273 

unprincipled fellow, was at the bottom of most of the ras- 
cally doings of the country, and gave us a great deal of in- 
teresting information in the ways of the world we were in. 

Saturday, Feb. 13/^. Were called up at midnight to slip 
for a violent north-easter, for this rascally hole of San Pedro 
is unsafe in every wind but a south-wester, which is seldom 
known to blow more than once in a half century. We went 
off with a flowing sheet, and hove-to under the lee of Cata- 
lina island, where we lay three days, and then returned to 
our anchorage. 

Tuesday, Feb. 23J. This afternoon, a signal was made 
from the shore, and we went off in the gig, and found the 
agent's clerk, who had been up to the pueblo, waiting at the 
landing-place, with a package under his arm, covered with 
brown paper and tied carefully with twine. No sooner had 
we shoved off than he told us there was good news from 
Santa Barbara. "What's that?" said one of the crew; 
"has the bloody agent slipped off the hooks ? Has the old 
bundle of bones got him at last ? " — " No ; better than that. 
The California has arrived." Letters, papers, news, and, 
perhaps — friends, on board ! Our hearts were all up in 
our mouths, and we pulled away like good fellows ; for the 
precious packet could not be opened except by the captain. 
As we pulled under the stern, the clerk held up the package, 
and called out to the mate, who was leaning over the taffrail, 
that the California had arrived. 

"Hurrah !" said the mate, so as to be heard fore and aft; 
*' California come, and news from Boston !" 

Instantly there was a confusion on board which no one 
could account for who has not been in the same situation. 
All discipline seemed for a moment relaxed. 

"What's that, Mr. Brown?" said the cook, putting his 
head out of the galley — ^'California come?" 

"Aye, aye ! you angel of darkness, and there's a letter 
for you from Bullknop street, number two-two-five — green 
door and brass knocker !" 

The packet was sent down into the cabin, and every one 



274 TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 

waited to hear the result. As nothing came up, the offi- 
cers began to feel that they were acting rather a child's 
part, and turned the crew to again; and the same strict 
discipline was restored, which prohibits speech between 
man and man, while at work on deck ; so that, when the 
steward came forward with letters for the crew, each man 
took his letters, carried them below to his chest, and came 
up again immediately ; and not a letter was read until we 
had cleared up decks for the night. 

An overstrained sense of manliness is the characteristic 
of seafaring men, or, rather, of Kfe on board ship. This 
often gives an appearance of want of feeHng, and even of 
cruelty. From this, if a man comes within an ace of break- 
ing his neck and escapes, it is made a joke of ; and no notice 
must be taken of a bruise or a cut ; and any expression of 
pity, or any show of attention, would look sisterly, and 
unbecoming a man who has to face the rough and tumble 
of such a life. From this, too, the sick are neglected at sea, 
and whatever sailors may be ashore, a sick man finds little 
sympathy or attention, forward or aft. A man, too, can 
have nothing pecuHar or sacred on board ship ; for all the 
nicer feehngs they take pride in disregarding, both in them- 
selves and others. A thin-skinned man could not live an 
hour on shipboard. One would be torn raw unless he had 
the hide of an ox. A moment of natural feeHng for home 
and friends, and then the frigid routine of sea-life returned. 
Jokes were made upon those who showed any interest in the 
expected news, and everything near and dear was made 
common stock for rude jokes and unfeeHng coarseness, 
to which no exception could be taken by any one. 

Supper, too, must be eaten before the letters were read ; 
and when, at last, they were brought out, they all got round 
any one who had a letter, and expected to have it read aloud, 
and have it all in common. If any one went by himself to 
read, it was — "Fair play, there; and no skulking!" I 
took mine and went into the Sailmaker's berth, where I 
could read it without interruption. It was dated August, 



TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 275 

just a year from the time I had sailed from home ; and every- 
one was well, and no great change had taken place. Thus, 
for one year, my mind was set at ease, yet it was already 
SLX months from the date of the letter, and what another 
year would bring to pass, who could tell? Every one 
away from home thinks that some great thmg must have 
happened, while to those at home there seems to be a con- 
tinued monotony and lack of incident. 

As much as my feelings were taken up by my own intel- 
ligence from home, I could not but be amused by a scene in 
the steerage. The carpenter had been married just before 
leaving Boston, and during the voyage had talked much 
about his wife, and had to bear and forbear, as every man, 
known to be married, must, aboard ship ; yet the certainty 
of hearing from his wife by the first ship, seemed to keep up 
his spirits. The California came ; the packet was brought 
on board ; no one was in higher spirits than he ; but when 
the letters came forward, there was none for him. The 
captain looked again, but there was no mistake. Poor 
"Chips" could eat no supper. He was completely down 
in the mouth. "Sails" (the sailmaker) tried to comfort 
him, and told him he was a bloody fool to give up his grub 
for any woman's daughter, and reminded him that he had 
told him a dozen times that he'd never see or hear from his 
wife again. 

"Ah !" said Chips, "you don't know what it is to have 
a wife, and" — 

"Don't I ?" said Sails ; and then came, for the hundredth 
time, the story of his coming ashore at New York, from the 
Constellation frigate, after a cruise of four years round the 
Horn, — being paid off with over five hundred dollars, — 
marrying, and taking a couple of rooms in a four-story 
house, — furnishing the rooms (with a particular account of 
the furniture, including a dozen flag-bottomed chairs, which 
he always dilated upon, whenever the subject of furniture 
was alluded to) , — going off to sea again, leaving his wife 
half -pay, like a fool, — coming home and finding her "off, 



276 TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 

like Bob's horse, with nobody to pay the reckoning" ; fur- 
niture gone, — flag-bottomed chairs and all ; — and with it, 
his ''long togs," the half-pay, his beaver hat, white linen 
shirts, and everything else. His wife he never saw, or heard 
of, from that day to this, and never wished to. Then fol- 
lowed a sweeping assertion, not much to the credit of the 
sex, if true, though he has Pope to back him. "Come, 
Chips, cheer up like a man, and take some hot grub ! Don't 
be made a fool of by anything in petticoats ! As for your 
wife, you'll never see her again ; she was 'up keeleg and off' 
before you were outside of Cape Cod. You've hove your 
money away hke a fool; but every man must learn once, 
just as I did; so you'd better square the yards ^sdth her, 
and make the best of it." 

This was the best consolation ''Sails" had to offer, but 
it did not seem to be just the thing the carpenter wanted ; 
for, during several days, he was very much dejected, and 
bore with difficulty the jokes of the sailors, and with still 
more difficulty their attempts at ad\ice and consolation, 
of most of which the sailmaker's was a good specimen. 

Thursday, Feb. 2^th. Set sail for Santa Barbara, where 
we arrived on Sunday, the 28th. We just missed of seeing 
the California, for she had sailed three days before, bound to 
Monterey, to enter her cargo and procure her Hcense, and 
thence to San Francisco, etc. Captain Arthur left ffles of 

Boston papers for Captain T , which, after they had 

been read and talked over in the cabin, I procured from my 
friend the third mate. One file was of all the Boston Tran- 
scripts for the month of August, 1835, and the rest were 
about a dozen Daily Advertisers and Courier^, of different 
dates. After all, there is nothing in a strange land like a 
newspaper from home. Even a letter, in many respects, 
is nothing, in comparison with it. It carries you back to 
the spot, better than anything else. It is almost equal to 
clairvoyance. The names of the streets, with the things 
advertised, is almost as good as seeing the signs ; and while 
reading "Boy lost !" one can almost hear the bell and well- 



TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 277 

known voice of "Old Wilson," crying the boy as "strayed, 
stolen, or mislaid!" Then there was the Commencement 
at Cambridge, and the full account of the exercises at the 
graduating of my own class. A list of all those familiar 
names (beginning as usual with Abbot, and ending with 
W.), which, as I read them over, one by one, brought up 
their faces and characters as I had known them in the va- 
rious scenes of college life. Then I imagined them upon the 
stage, speaking their orations, dissertations, colloquies, etc., 
with the gestures and tones of each, and tried to fancy the 

manner in which each would handle his subject. , 

handsome, showy, and superficial; , with his strong 

head, clear brain, cool self-possession ; , modest, sensi- 
tive, and underrated ; , the mouth-piece of the debating 

clubs, noisy, vaporous, and democratic ; and so following. 
Then I could see them receiving their A.B.'s from the dig- 
nified, feudal-looking President, with his "auctoritate mihi 
commissa," and walking oS the stage with their diplomas 
in their hands ; while, upon the very same day, their class- 
mate was walking up and down California beach with a hide 
upon his head. 

Every watch below, for a week, I pored over these papers, 
until I was sure there could be nothing in them that had 
escaped my attention, and was ashamed to keep them any 
longer. 

Saturday, March $ih. This was an important day in our 
almanac, for it was on this day that we were first assured 
that our voyage was really drawing to a close. The captain 
gave orders to have the ship ready for getting under weigh ; 
and observed that there was a good breeze to take us down 
to San Pedro. Then we were not going up to windward. 
Thus much was certain, and was soon known fore and aft ; 
and when we went in the gig to take him off, he shook hands 
with the people on the beach, and said that he never ex- 
pected to see Santa Barbara again. This settled the matter, 
and sent a thrill of pleasure through the heart of every 
one in the boat. We pulled off with a will, saying to our- 



278 TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 

selves (I can speak for myself at least) — " Good-by, Santa 
Barbara ! — This is the last pull here ! — No more duckings 
in your breakers, and slipping from your cursed south- 
easters !" The news was soon known aboard, and put life 
into everything when we were getting under weigh. Each 
one was taking his last look at the mission, the town, the 
breakers on the beach, and swearing that no money would 
make him ship to see them again ; and when all hands tallied 
on to the cat-fall, the chorus of "Time for us to go !" was 
raised for the first time, and joined in, with full swing, by 
everybody. One would have thought we were on our voy- 
age home, so near did it seem to us, though there were yet 
three months for us on the coast. 

We left here the young Englishman, George Marsh, of 
whom I have before spoken, who was wrecked upon the 
Pelew Islands. He left us to take the berth of second mate 
on board the Ayacucho, which was lying in port. He was 
well qualified for this, and his education would enable him 
to rise to any situation on board ship. I felt really sorry to 
part from him. There was something about him which 
excited my curiosity ; for I could not, for a moment, doubt 
that he was well born, and, in early life, well bred. There 
was the latent gentleman about him, and the sense of honor, 
and no little of the pride, of a young man of good family. 
The situation was offered him only a few hours before we 
sailed ; and though he must give up returning to America, 
yet I have no doubt that the change from a dog's berth to 
an officer's, was too agreeable to his feelings to be declined. 
We pulled him on board the Ayacucho, and when he left 
the boat he gave each of its crew a piece of money, except 
myself, and shook hands with me, nodding his head, as 
much as to say, — "We understand one another," and 
sprang on board. Had I known, an hour sooner, that he 
was to leave us, I would have made an effort to get from 
him the true history of his early life. He knew that I had 
no faith in the story which he told the crew, and perhaps, 
in the moment of parting from me, probably forever, he 



TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 279 

would have given me the true account. Whether I shall 
ever meet him again, or whether his manuscript narrative 
of his adventures in the Pelew Islands, which would be cred- 
itable to him and interesting to the world, will ever see the 
light, I cannot tell. His is one of those cases which are more 
numerous than those suppose, who have never lived any- 
where but in their own homes, and never walked but in one 
line from their cradle to their graves. We must come down 
from our heights, and leave our straight paths, for the by- 
ways and low places of life, if we would learn truths by 
strong contrasts ; and in hovels, in forecastles, and among 
our own outcasts in foreign lands, see what has been wrought 
upon our fellow-creatures by accident, hardship, or vice. 

Two days brought us to San Pedro, and two days more 
(to our no small joy) gave us our last view of that place, 
which was universally called the hell of California, and 
seemed designed, in every way, for the wear and tear of 
sailors. Not even the last view could bring out one feeling 
of regret. No thanks, thought I, as we left the sandy 
shores in the distance, for the hours I have walked over 
your stones, barefooted, with hides on my head ; — for the 
burdens I have carried up your steep, muddy hill ; — for 
the duckings in your surf ; and for the long days and longer 
nights passed on your desolate hill, watching piles of hides, 
hearing the sharp bark of your eternal coati, and the dismal 
hooting of your owls. 

As I bade good-by to each successive place, I felt as 
though one link after another were struck from the chain 
of my servitude. Having kept close in shore, for the land- 
breeze, we passed the mission of San Juan Campestrano the 
same night, and saw distinctly, by the bright moonlight, 
the hill which I had gone down by a pair of halyards in 
search of a few paltry hides. "Forsitan et haec olim," 
thought I, and took my last look of that place too. And 
on the next morning we were under the high point of San 
Diego. The flood tide took us swiftly in, and we came-to, 
opposite our hide-house, and prepared to get everything in 



28o TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 

trim for a long stay. This was our last port. Here we 
were to discharge everything from the ship, clean her out, 
smoke her, take in our hides, wood, water, etc., and set sail 
for Boston. While all this was doing, we were to lie still 
in one place, and the port was a safe one, and there was no 
fear of south-easters. Accordingly, having picked out a 
good berth, in the stream, with a good smooth beach oppo- 
site, for a landing-place, and within two cables' length of our 
hide-house, we moored ship, unbent all the sails, sent down 
the top-gallant yards and all the studding-sail booms, and 
housed the top-gallant-masts. The boats were then hove 
out, and all the sails, the spare spars, the stores, the, rigging 
not rove, and, in fact, everything which was not in daily 
use, sent ashore, and stowed away in the house. Then went 
all our hides and horns, and we left hardly anything in the 
ship but her ballast, and this we made preparation to heave 
out, the next day. At night, after we had knocked off, and 
were sitting round in the forecastle, smoking and talking 
and taking sailor's pleasure, we congratulated ourselves 
upon being in that situation in which we had wished our- 
selves every time we had come into San Diego. " If we were 
only here for the last time," we had often said, "with our 
top-gallant-masts housed and our sails unbent ! " — and 
now we had our wish. Six weeks, or two months, of the 
hardest work we had yet seen, was before us, and then — 
''Good-by to California!" 



CHAPTER XXrX 

We turned-in early, knowing that we might expect an 
early call; and sure enough, before the stars had quite 
faded, "All hands ahoy !" and we were turned-to, heaving 
out ballast. A regulation of the port forbids any ballast 
to be thrown overboard ; accordingly, our long-boat was 
Hned inside with rough boards and brought alongside the 
gangway, but where one tub-full went into the boat, twenty 
went overboard. This is done by every vessel, for the bal- 
last can make but little difference in the channel, and it saves 
more than a week of labor, which would be spent in loading 
the boats, rowing them to the point, and unloading them. 
When any people from the presidio were on board, the boat 
was hauled up and the ballast thrown in ; but when the coast 
was clear, she was dropped astern again, and the ballast fell 
overboard. This is one of those petty frauds which every 
vessel practises in ports of inferior foreign nations, and which 
are lost sight of, among the countless deeds of greater weight 
which are hardly less common. Fortunately, a sailor, not 
being a free agent in work aboard ship, is not accountable ; 
yet the fact of being constantly employed, without thought, 
in such things, begets an indifference to the rights of others. 

Friday, and a part of Saturday, we were engaged in this 
work, until we had thrown out all but what we wanted under 
our cargo on the passage home ; when, as the next day was 
Sunday, and a good day for smoking ship, we cleared every- 
thing out of the cabin and forecastle, made a slow fire of 
charcoal, birch bark, brimstone, and other matters, on the 
ballast in the bottom of the hold, calked up the hatches 
and every open seam, and pasted over the cracks of the 
windows, and the slides of the scuttles, and companion-way. 
Wherever smoke was seen coming out, we calked and pasted, 

281 



282 TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 

and, so far as we could, made the ship smoke tight. The 
captain and officers slept under the awning which was spread 
over the quarter-deck ; and we stowed ourselves away under 
an old studding-sail, which we drew over one side of the fore- 
castle. The next day, from fear that something might 
happen, orders were given for no one to leave the ship, and, 
as the decks were lumbered up with everything, we could not 
wash them down, so we had nothing to do, all day long. 
Unfortunately, our books were where we could not get at 
them, and we were turning about for something to do, when 
one man recollected a book he had left in the galley. He 
went after it, and it proved to be Woodstock. This was a 
great windfall, and as all could not read it at once, I, being 
the scholar of the company, was appointed reader. I got 
a knot of six or eight about me, and no one could have had 
a more attentive audience. Some laughed at the ''schol- 
ars," and went over the other side of the forecastle, to work, 
and spin their yarns ; but I carried the day, and had the 
cream of the crew for my hearers. Many of the reflections, 
and the political parts, I omitted, but all the narrative they 
were delighted with ; especially the descriptions of the Puri- 
tans, and the sermons and harangues of the Round-head 
soldiers. The gallantry of Charles, Dr. RadcHffe's plots, the 
knavery of " trusty Tompkins," — in fact, every part seemed 
to chain their attention. Many things which, while I was 
reading, I had a misgiving about, thinking them above their 
capacity, I was surprised to find them enter into completely. 

I read nearly all day, until sun-down ; when, as soon as 
supper was over, as I had nearly finished, they got a light 
from the galley ; and by skipping what was less interesting, 
I carried them through to the marriage of Everard, and 
the restoration of Charles the Second, before eight o'clock. 

The next morning, we took the battens from the hatches, 
and opened the ship. A few stifled rats were found; and 
what bugs, cockroaches, fleas, and other vermin, there might 
have been on board, must have unrove their life-lines before 
the hatches were opened. The ship being now ready, we 



TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 283 

covered the bottom of the hold over, fore and aft, with dried 
brush, for dunnage, and having levelled everything away, 
we were ready to take in our cargo. All the hides that had 
been collected since the California left the coast (a little 
more than two years), amounting to about forty thousand, 
were cured, dried, and stowed away in the house, waiting 
for our good ship to take them to Boston. 

Now began the operation of taking in our cargo, which 
kept us hard at work, from the grey of the morning till 
star-light, for six weeks, with the exception of Sundays, 
and of just time to swallow our meals. To carry the work 
on quicker, a division of labor was made. Two men threw 
the hides down from the piles in the house, two more picked 
them up and put them on a long horizontal pole, raised a 
few feet from the ground, where they were beaten by two 
more with flails, somewhat like those used in threshing 
wheat. When beaten, they were taken from this pole by 
two more, and placed upon a platform of boards ; and ten 
or a dozen men, with their trowsers rolled up, were con- 
stantly going, back and forth, from the platform to the boat, 
which was kept off where she would just float, with the hides 
upon their heads. The throwing the hides upon the pole 
was the most difficult work, and required a sleight of hand 
which was only to be got by long practice. As I was known 
for a hide-curer, this post was assigned to me, and I con- 
tinued at it for six or eight days, tossing, in that time, from 
eight to ten thousand hides, until my wrists became so lame 
that I gave in ; and was transferred to the gang that was 
employed in filling the boats, where I remained for the rest 
of the time. As we were obliged to carry the hides on our 
heads from fear of their getting wet, we each had a piece 
of sheepskin sewed into the inside of our hats, with the wool 
next our heads, and thus were able to bear the weight, day 
after day, which would otherwise have soon worn off our 
hair, and borne hard upon our skulls. Upon the whole, 
ours was the best berth ; for though the water was nipping 
cold, early in the morning and late at night, and being so 



284 TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 

continually wet was rather an exposure, yet we got rid of 
the constant dust and dirt from the beating of the hides, 
and being all of us young and hearty, did not mind the ex- 
posure. The older men of the crew, whom it would have 
been dangerous to have kept in the water, remained on 
board with the mate, to stow the hides away, as fast as they 
were brought off by the boats. 

We continued at work in this manner until the lower hold 
was filled to within four feet of the beams, when all hands 
were called aboard to commence steeving. As this is a 
pecuhar operation, it will require a minute description. 

Before stowing the hides, as I have said, the ballast is 
levelled off, just above the keelson, and then loose dunnage 
placed upon it, on which the hides rest. The greatest care 
is used in stowing, to make the ship hold as many hides as 
possible. It is no mean art, and a man skilled in it is an 
important character in California. Many a dispute have I 
heard raging high between professed "beach-combers," 
as to whether the hides should be stowed ''shingling," or 
''back- to-back, and flipper-to-flipper"; upon which point 
there was an entire and bitter division of sentiment among 
the savans. We adopted each method at different periods 
of the stowing, and parties ran high in the forecastle, some 
siding with "old Bill" in favor of the former, and others 
scouting him, and relying upon "Enghsh Bob" of the Aya- 
cucho, who had been eight years in California, and was will- 
ing to risk his hfe and Hmb for the latter method. At 
length a compromise was effected, and a middle course, of 
shifting the ends and backs at every lay, was adopted, which 
worked well, and which, though they held it inferior to their 
own, each party granted was better than that of the other. 

Having filled the ship up, in this way, to within four feet 
of her beams, the process of steeving commenced, by which 
an hundred hides are got into a place where one could not 
be forced by hand, and which presses the hides to the ut- 
most, sometimes starting the beams of the ship, resembling 
in its effects the jack-screws which are used in stowing cot- 



TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 285 

ton. Each morning we went ashore, and beat and brought 
off as many hides as we could steeve in the course of the day, 
and, after breakfast, went down into the hold, where we 
remained at work until night. The whole length of the 
hold, from stem to stern, was floored off level, and we began 
with raising a pile in the after part, hard against the bulk- 
head of the run, and filling it up to the beams, crowding in 
as many as we could by hand and pushing in with oars; 
when a large "book" was made of from twenty-five to fifty 
hides, doubled at the backs, and put into one another, hke 
the leaves of a book. An opening was then made between 
two hides in the pile, and the back of the outside hide of the 
book inserted. Two long, heavy spars, called steeves, made 
of the strongest wood, and sharpened off like a wedge at one 
end, were placed with their wedge ends into the inside of the 
hide which was the centre of the book, and to the other end 
of each, straps were fitted, into which large tackles were 
hooked, composed each of two huge purchase blocks, one 
hooked to the strap on the end of the steeve, and the other 
into a dog, fastened into one of the beams, as far aft as it 
could be got. When this was arranged, and the ways 
greased upon which the book was to slide, the falls of the 
tackles were stretched forward, and all hands tallied on, and 
bowsed away until the book was well entered : when these 
tackles were nippered, straps and toggles clapped upon the 
falls, and two more luff tackles hooked on, with dogs, in 
the same manner; and thus, by luff upon luff, the power 
was multiplied, until into a pile in which one hide more 
could not be crowded by hand, an hundred or an hundred 
and fifty were often driven in by this complication of pur- 
chases. When the last luff was hooked on, all hands were 
called to the rope — cook, steward, and all — and ranging 
ourselves at the falls, one behind the other, sitting down 
on the hides, with our heads just even with the beams, 
we set taught upon the tackles, and striking up a song, and 
all lying back at the chorus, we bowsed the tackles home, 
and drove the large books chock in out of sight. 



286 TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 

The sailors' songs for captains and falls are of a peculiar 
kind, having a chorus at the end of each line. The burden 
is usually sung by one alone, and, at the chorus, all hands 
join in, — and the louder the noise, the better. With us, 
the chorus seemed almost to raise the decks of the ship, and 
might be heard at a great distance, ashore. A song is as 
necessary to sailors as the drum and fife to a soldier. They 
can't pull in time, or pull with a will, without it. Many a 
time, when a thing goes heavy, with one fellow yo-ho-ing, 
a lively song, like ''Heave, to the girls!" "Nancy oh!" 
"Jack Cross-tree," etc., has put Hfe and strength into every 
arm. We often found a great difference in the effect of 
the different songs in driving in the hides. Two or three 
songs would be tried, one after the other, with no effect; 

— not an inch could be got upon the tackles — when a new 
song, struck up, seemed to hit the humor of the moment, 
and drove the tackles "two blocks" at once. "Heave 
round hearty!" "Captain gone ashore!" and the like, 
might do for common pulls, but on an emergency, when we 
wanted a heavy, " raise- the-dead " pull, which should start 
the beams of the ship, there was nothing like "Time for us 
to go!" "Round the corner," or "Hurrah hurrah! my 
hearty bullies !" 

This was the most lively part of our work. A Kttle 
boating and beach work in the morning; then twenty or 
thirty men down in a close hold, where we were obliged to 
sit down and slide about, passing hides, and rowsing about 
the great steeves, tackles, and dogs, singing out at the 
falls, and seeing the ship filling up every day. The work 
was as hard as it could well be. There was not a moment's 
cessation from Monday morning till Saturday night, when 
we were generally beaten out, and glad to have a full night's 
rest, a wash and shift of clothes, and a quiet Sunday. Dur- 
ing all this time, — which would have startled Dr. Graham, 

— we lived upon almost nothing but fresh beef : fried beef- 
steaks, three times a day, — morning, noon, and night. 
At morning and night we had a quart of tea to each man ; 



TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 287 

and an allowance of about a pound of hard bread a day; 
but our chief article of food was the beef. A mess, consist- 
ing of six men, had a large wooden kid piled up with beef- 
steaks, cut thick, and fried in fat, with the grease poured 
over them. Round this we sat, attacking it with our jack- 
knives and teeth, and with the appetite of young lions, and 
sent back an empty kid to the galley. This-was done three 
times a day. How many pounds each man ate in a day, I 
will not attempt to compute. A whole bullock (we ate liver 
and all) lasted us but four days. Such devouring of flesh, 
I will venture to say, was seldom known before. What one 
man ate in a day, over a hearty man's allowance, would 
make a Russian's heart leap into his mouth. Indeed, during 
all the time we were upon the coast, our principal food was 
fresh beef, and every man had perfect health ; but this was 
a time of especial devouring ; and what we should have done 
without meat, I cannot tell. Once or twice, when our bul- 
locks failed and we were obliged to make a meal upon dry 
bread and water, it seemed like feeding upon shavings. 
Light and dry, feeling unsatisfied, and, at the same time, 
full, we were glad to see four quarters of a bullock, just 
killed, swinging from the fore-top. Whatever theories 
may be started by sedentary men, certainly no men could 
have gone through more hard work and exposure for six- 
teen months in more perfect health, and without ailings and 
failings, than our ship's crew, let them have lived upon 
Hygeia's own baking and dressing. 

Friday, April i$th. Arrived, brig Pilgrim, from the 
windward. It was a sad sight for her crew to see us getting 
ready to go off the coast, while they, who had been longer 
on the coast than the Alert, were condemned to another 
year's hard service. I spent an evening on board, and 
found them making the best of the matter, and determined 

to rough it out as they might; but my friend S was 

determined to go home in the ship, if money or interest 
could bring it to pass. After considerable negotiating and 
working, he succeeded in persuading my English friend. 



288 TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 

Tom Harris, — my companion in the anchor watch, — for 
thirty dollars, some clothes, and an intimation from Cap- 
tain Faucon that he should want a second mate before the 
voyage was up, to take his place in the brig as soon as she 
was ready to go up to windward. 

The first opportunity I could get to speak to Captain 
Faucon, I asked him to step up to the oven and look at 
Hope, whom he knew well, having had him on board his * 
vessel. He went to see him, but said that he had so little 
medicine, and expected to be so long on the coast, that he 
could do nothing for him, but that Captain Arthur would 
take care of him when he came down in the California, 
which would be in a week or more. I had been to see Hope 
the first night after we got into San Diego this last time, and 
had frequently since spent the early part of a night in the 
oven. I hardly expected, when I left him to go to wind- 
ward, to find him alive upon my return. He was certainly 
as low as he could well be when I left him, and what would 
be the effect of the medicines that I gave him, I hardly then 
dared to conjecture. Yet I knew that he must die without 
them. I was not a little rejoiced, therefore, and relieved, 
upon our return, to see him decidedly better. The medi- 
cines were strong, and took hold and gave a check to the dis- 
order which was destroying him ; and, more than that, they 
had begun the work of exterminating it. I shall never for- 
get the gratitude that he expressed. All the Kanakas attrib- 
uted his escape solely to my knowledge, and would not be per- 
suaded that I had not all the secrets of the physical system 
open to me and under my control. My medicines, however, 
were gone, and no more could be got from the ship, so that 
his life was left to hang upon the arrival of the California. 

Sunday, April 24th. We had now been nearly seven 
weeks in San Diego, and had taken in the greater part of 
our cargo, and were looking out, every day, for the arrival 
of the California, which had our agent on board; when, 
this afternoon, some Kanakas, who had been over the hill 
for rabbits and to fight rattlesnakes, came running down 



TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 289 

the path, singing, "Kail ho!" with all their might. Mr. 
H., our third mate, was ashore, and asking them particu- 
larly about the size of the sail, etc., and learning that it 
was "Moku — Nui Moku," hailed our ship, and said that 
the California was on the other side of the point. Instantly, 
all hands were turned up, the bow guns run out and loaded, 
the ensign and broad pennant set, the yards squared by lifts 
and braces, and everything got ready to make a good ap- 
pearance. The instant she showed her nose round the 
point, we" began our salute. She came in under top-gal- 
lant-sails, clewed up and furled her sails in good order, and 
came-to, within good swinging distance of us. It being Sun- 
day, and nothing to do, all hands were on the forecastle, 
criticising the new-comer. She was a good, substantial 
ship, not quite so long as the Alert, and wall-sided and ket- 
tle-bottomed, after the latest fashion of south-shore cotton 
and sugar wagons ; strong, too, and tight, and a good aver- 
age sailer, but with no pretensions to beauty, and nothing in 
the style of a "crack ship." Upon the whole, we were 
perfectly satisfied that the Alert might hold up her head 
with a ship twice as smart as she. 

At night, some of us got a boat and went on board, and 
found a large, roomy forecastle (for she was squarer forward 
than the Alert), and a crew of a dozen or fifteen men and 
boys, sitting around on their chests, smoking and talking, 
and ready to give a welcome to any of our ship's company. 
It was just seven months since they left Boston, which 
seemed but yesterday to us. Accordingly, we had much to 
ask, for though we had seen the newspapers that she brought, 
yet these were the very men who had been in Boston and 
seen everything with their own eyes. One of the green-hands 
was a Boston boy, from one of the public schools, and, of 
course, knew many things which we wished to ask about, and 
on inquiring the names of our two Boston boys, found that 
they had been schoolmates of his. Our men had hundreds 
of questions to ask about Ann street, the boarding-houses, 
the ships in port, the rate of wages, and other matters. 



290 TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 

Among her crew were two EDglish man-of-war's-men, so 
that, of course, we soon had music. They sang in the true 
sailor's style, and the rest of the crew, which was a remark- 
ably musical one, joined in the choruses. They had many 
of the latest sailor songs, which had not yet got about 
among our merchantmen, and which they were very choice 
of. They began soon after we came on board, and kept it 
up until after two bells, when the second mate came for- 
ward and called "the Alerts away !" Battle-songs, drink- 
ing-songs, boat-songs, love-songs, and everything else, they 
seemed to have a complete assortment of, and I was glad 
to find that "All in the downs," "Poor Tom Bowline," 
"The Bay of Biscay," "List, ye landsmen !" and all those 
classical songs of the sea, still held their places. In addition 
to these, they had picked up at the theatres and other places 
a few songs of a Httle more genteel cast, which they were 
very proud of ; and I shall never forget hearing an old salt, 
who had broken his voice by hard drinking on shore, and 
bellowing from the mast-head in an hundred north-westers, 
with all manner of ungovernable trills and quavers — in 
the high notes, breaking into a rough falsetto — and in the 
low ones, growling along like the dying away of the boat- 
swain's "all hands ahoy!" down the hatchway, singing, 
"Oh no, we never mention him." 

" Perhaps, like me, he struggles with 
Each feeling of regret; 
But if he'd k'Ved as I have loved, 
He never can forget! " 

The last line, being the conclusion, he roared out at the 
top of his voice, breaking each word up into half a dozen 
syllables. This was very popular, and Jack was called upon 
every night to give them his "sentimental song." No one 
called for it more loudly than I, for the complete absurdity 
of the execution, and the sailors' perfect satisfaction in it, 
were ludicrous beyond measure. 

The next day, the California commenced unloading her 



TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 291 

cargo; and her boats' crews, in coming and going, sang 
their boat-songs, keeping time with their oars. This they 
did all day long for several days, until their hides were all 
discharged, when a gang of them were sent on board the 
Alert, to help us steeve our hides. This was a windfall for 
us, for they had a set of new songs for the capstan and fall, 
and ours had got nearly worn out by six weeks' constant use. 
I have no doubt that this timely reinforcement of songs 
hastened our work several days. 

Our cargo was now nearly all taken in ; and my old friend, 
the Pilgrim, having completed her discharge, unmoored, 
to set sail the next morning on another long trip to wind- 
ward. I was just thinking of her hard lot, and congratu- 
lating myself upon my escape from her, when I received a 
summons into the cabin. I went aft, and there found, 
seated round the cabin table, my own captain. Captain 

Faucon of the Pilgrim, and Mr. R , the agent. Captain 

T turned to me and asked abruptly — 

"D , do you want to go home in the ship ?" 

" Certainly, sir," said I ; " I expect to go home in the ship." 
"Then," said he, "you must get some one to go in your 
place on board the Pilgrim." 

I was so completely "taken aback" by this sudden inti- 
mation, that for a moment I could make no reply. I knew 
that it would be hopeless to attempt to prevail upon any 
of the ship's crew to take twelve months more upon Cali- 
fornia in the brig. I knew, too, that Captain T had 

received orders to bring me home in the Alert, and he had 
told me, when I was at the hide-house, that I was to go 
home in her ; and even if this had not been so, it was cruel 
to give me no notice of the step they were going to take, 
until a few hours before the brig would sail. As soon as I 
had got my wits about me, I put on a bold front, and told 
him plainly that I had a letter in my chest informing me 
that he had been written to, by the owners in Boston, to 
bring me home in the ship, and moreover that he had told 
me that I was to go in the ship. 



292 TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 

To have this told him, and to be opposed in such a man- 
ner, was more than my lord paramount had been used to. 
He turned fiercely upon me, and tried to look me down, and 
face me out of my statement ; but finding that that wouldn't 
do, and that I was entering upon my defence in such a way 
as would show to the other two that he was in the wrong, — 
he changed his ground, and pointed to the .shipping papers 
of the Pilgrim, from which my name had never been erased, 
and said that there was my name, — that I belonged to her, 
— that he had an absolute discretionary power, — and, in 
short, that I must be on board the Pilgrim by the next morn- 
ing with my chest and hammock, or have some one ready 
to go in my place, and that he would not hear another word 
from me. No court of star chamber could proceed more 
summarily with a poor devil, than this trio was about to 
do with me; condemning me to a punishment worse than 
a Botany Bay exile, and to a fate which would alter the 
whole current of my future life ; for two years more in Cali- 
fornia would have made me a sailor for the rest of my days. 
I felt all this, and saw the necessity of being determined. 
I repeated what I had said, and insisted upon my right to 
return in the ship. 

I " raised my arm, and tauld my crack, 
Before them a'." 

But it would have all availed me nothing, had I been 
''some poor body," before this absolute, domineering tri- 
bunal. But they saw that I would not go, unless "vi et 
armis," and they knew that I had friends and interest 
enough at home to make them suffer for any injustice 
they might do me. It was probably this that turned the 
matter; for the captain changed his tone entirely, and 
asked me if, in case any one went in my place, I would give 

him the same sum that S gave Harris to exchange with 

him. I told him that if any one was sent on board the 
brig, I should pity him, and be wilHng to help him to that, 



TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 293 

or almost any amount; but would not speak of it as an 
exchange. 

"Very well," said he. " Go forward about your business, 
and send English Ben here to me !" 

I went forward with a light heart, but feeling as angry 
and as much contempt as I could well contain between my 
teeth. English Ben was sent aft, and in a few moments 
came forward, looking as though he had received his sen- 
tence to be hung. The captain had told him to get his 
things ready to go on board the brig the next morning ; and 
that I would give him thirty dollars and a suit of clothes. 
The hands had ''knocked off" for dinner, and were standing 
about the forecastle, when Ben came forward and told his 
story. I could see plainly that it made a great excitement, 
and that, unless I explained the matter to them, the feeling 
would be turned against me. Ben was a poor English boy, 
a stranger in Boston, and without friends or money; and 
being an active, willing lad, and a good sailor for his years, 
was a general favorite. '' Oh yes ! " said the crew, " the cap- 
tain has let you off, because you are a gentleman's son, and 
have got friends, and know the owners; and taken Ben, 
because he is poor, and has got nobody to say a word for 
him ! " I knew that this was too true to be answered, but 
I excused myself from any blame, and told them that I 
had a right to go home, at all events. This pacified them a 
little, but Jack had got a notion that a poor lad was to be 
imposed upon, and did not distinguish very clearly; and 
though I knew that I was in no fault, and, in fact, had barely 
escaped the grossest injustice, yet I felt that my berth was 
getting to be a disagreeable one. The notion that I was 
not "one of them," which, by a participation in all their 
labor and hardships, and having no favor shown me, had 
been laid asleep, was beginning to revive. But far stronger 
than any feeling for myself, was the pity I felt for the poor 
lad. He had depended upon going home in the ship ; and 
from Boston, was going immediately to Liverpool, to see 
his friends. Beside this, having begun the voyage with 



294 TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 

very few clothes, he had taken up the greater part of his 
wages in the slop-chest, and it was every day a losing concern 
to him ; and, like all the rest of the crew, he had a hearty 
hatred of California, and the prospect of eighteen months 
or two years more of hide-droghing seemed completely to 
break down his spirit. I had determined not to go myself, 
happen what would, and I knew that the captain would not 
dare to attempt to force me. I knew, too, that the two 
captains had agreed together to get some one, and that un- 
less I could prevail upon somebody to go voluntarily, there 
would be no help for Ben. From this consideration, though 
I had said that I would have nothing to do with an exchange, 
I did my best to get some one to go' voluntarily. I offered 
to give an order upon the owners in Boston for six months' 
wages, and also all the clothes, books, and other matters, 
which I should not want upon the voyage home. When 
this offer was published in the ship, and the case of poor Ben 
was set forth in strong colors, several, who would not have 
dreamed of going themselves, were busy in talking it up to 
others, who, they thought, might be tempted to accept it ; 
and, at length, one fellow, a harum-scarum lad, whom we 
called Harry Bluff, and who did not care what country or 
ship he was in, if he had clothes enough and money enough 
— partly from pity for Ben, and partly from the thought he 
should have "cruising money" for the rest of his stay, — 
came forward, and offered to go and "sling his hammock in 
the bloody hooker." Lest his purpose should cool, I signed 
an order for the sum upon the owners in Boston, gave him 
all the clothes I could spare, and sent him aft to the captain, 
to let him know what had been done. The skipper accepted 
the exchange, and was, doubtless, glad to have it pass off 
so easily. At the same time he cashed the order, which 
was endorsed to him,^ and the next morning, the lad went 

^When the crew were paid off in Boston, the owners answered 
the order, but generously refused to deduct the amount from the 
pay-roll, saying that the exchange was made under compulsion. 
They also allowed S his exchange money. 



TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 295 

aboard the brig, apparently in good spirits, having shaken 
hands with each of us and wished us a pleasant passage 
home, jinghng the money in his pockets, and calling out, 
"Never say die, while there's a shot in the locker." The 
same boat carried off Harris, my old ^yatchmate, who had 
previously made an exchange with my friend S . 

I was sorry to part with Harris. Nearly two hundred 
hours (as we had calculated it) had we walked the ship's 
deck together, at anchor watch, when all hands were below, 
and talked over and over every subject which came within 
the ken of either of us. He gave me a strong gripe with his 
hand ; and I told him, if he came to Boston again, not to 
fail to find me out, and let me see an old watchmate. The 
same boat brought on board S , my friend, who had be- 
gun the voyage with me from Boston, and, hke me, was 
going back to his family and to the society which we had 
been born and brought up in. We congratulated one an- 
other upon finding what we had long talked over and wished 
for, thus brought about ; and none on board the ship were 
more glad than ourselves to see the old brig standing round 
the point, under full sail. As she passed abreast of us, we 
all collected in the waist, and gave her three loud, hearty 
cheers, waving our hats in the air. Her crew sprang into 
the rigging and chains, and answered us with three as loud, 
to which we, after the nautical custom, gave one in return. 
I took my last look of their familiar faces as they got over 
the rail, and saw the old black cook put his head out of the 
galley, and wave his cap over his head. The crew flew aloft 
to loose the top-gallant-sails and royals ; the two captains 
waved their hands to one another; and, in ten minutes, 
we saw the last inch of her white canvas, as she rounded the 
point. 

Relieved as I was to see her well off (and I felt like one 
who had just sprung from an iron trap which was closing 
upon him) I had yet a feeling of regret at taking the last 
look at the old craft in which I had spent a year, and the 
first year, of my sailor's life — which had been my first home 



296 TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 

in the new world into which I had entered — and with which 
I had associated so many things, — my first leaving home, 
my first crossing the equator, Cape Horn, Juan Fernandez, 
death at sea, and other things, serious and common. Yet, 
with all this, and the feeling I had for my old shipmates, 
condemned to another term of California life, the thought 
that we were done with it, and that one week more would 
see us on our way to Boston, was a cure for everything. 

Friday, May 6th, completed the taking in of our cargo, 
and was a memorable day in our calendar. The time when 
we were to take in our last hide, we had looked forward to, 
for sixteen months, as the first bright spot. When the last 
hide was stowed away, and the hatches calked down, the 
tarpaulins battened on to them, the long-boat hoisted in 
and secured, and the decks swept down for the night, — 
the chief mate sprang upon the top of the long-boat, called 
all hands into the waist, and giving us a signal by swinging 
his cap over his head, — we gave three long, loud cheers, 
which came from the bottom of our hearts, and made the 
hills and valleys ring again. In a moment, we heard three, 
in answer, from the California's crew, who had seen us tak- 
ing in our long-boat, and — "the cry they heard — its 
meaning knew." 

The last week, we had been occupied in taking in a supply 
of wood and water for the passage home, and in bringing 
on board the spare spars, sails, etc. I was sent off with a 
party of Indians to fill the water-casks, at a spring, about 
three miles from the shipping, and near the town, and was 
absent three days, living at the town, and spending the day- 
time in filling the casks and transporting them on ox-carts 
to the landing-place, whence they were taken on board by 
the crew with boats. This being all done with, we gave one 
to bending our sails; and at night, every sail, from the 
courses to the skysails, was bent, and every studding-sail 
ready for setting. 

Before our sailing, an unsuccessful attempt was made 
by one of the crew of the California to eS'ect an exchange 



TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 297 

with one of our number. It was a lad, between fifteen and 
sixteen years of age, who went by the nam-e of the "reefer," 
having been a midshipman in an East India Company's 
ship. His singular character and story had excited our 
interest ever since the ship came into the port. He was 
a delicate, slender little fellow, with a beautiful pearly com- 
plexion, regular features, forehead as white as marble, black 
hair, curling beautifully round it, tapering, delicate fingers, 
small feet, soft voice, gentle manners, and, in fact, every 
sign of having been well born and bred. At the same time, 
there was something in his expression which showed a slight 
deficiency of intellect. How great the deficiency was, or 
what it resulted from ; whether he was born so ; whether 
it was the result of disease or accident ; or whether, as some 
said, it was brought on by his distress of mind, during the 
voyage, I cannot say. From his own account of himself, 
and from many circumstances which were known in connec- 
tion with his story, he must have been the son of a man of 
wealth. His mother was an Italian woman. He was prob- 
ably a natural son, for in scarcely any other way could the 
incidents of his early life be accounted for. He said that 
his parents did not live together, and he seemed to have been 
ill treated by his father. Though he had been delicately 
brought up, and indulged in every way (and he had then 
with him trinkets which had been given him at home), yet 
his education had been sadly neglected ; and when only 
twelve years old, he was sent as midshipman in the Com- 
pany's service. His own story was, that he afterwards ran 
away from home, upon a diJEficulty which he had with his 
father, and went to Liverpool, whence he sailed in the ship 
Rialto, Captain Holmes, for Boston. Captain Holmes en- 
deavored to get him a passage back, but there being no 
vessel to sail for some time, the boy left him, and went to 
board at a common sailor's boarding-house, in Ann street, 
where he supported himself for a few weeks by selling some 
of his valuables. At length, according to his own account, 
being desirous of returning home, he went to a shipping- 



298 TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 

ofSce, where the shipping articles of the California were 
open. Upon asking where the ship was going, he was told 
by the shipping-master that she was bound to California. 
Not knowing where that was, he told him that he wanted 
to go to Europe, and asked if California was in Europe. 
The shipping-master answered him in a way which the boy 
did not understand, and advised him to ship. The boy 
signed the articles, received his advance, laid out a little of 
it in clothes, and spent the rest, and was ready to go on 
board, when, upon the morning of sailing, he heard that the 
ship was bound upon the North-west Coast, on a two or 
three years' voyage, and was not going to Europe. Fright- 
ened at this prospect, he slipped away when the crew were 
going aboard, wandered up into another part of the town, 
and spent all the forenoon in straying about the common, 
and the neighboring streets. Having no money, and all 
his clothes and other things being in his chest, on board, and 
being a stranger, he became tired and hungry, and ven- 
tured down toward the shipping, to see if the vessel had 
sailed. He was just turning the corner of a street, when the 
shipping-master, who had been in search of him, popped 
upon him, seized him, and carried him on board. He cried 
and struggled, and said he did not wish to go in the ship, 
but the topsails were at the mast-head, the fast just ready 
to be cast off, and everything in the hurry and confusion of 
departure, so that he was hardly noticed ; and the few who did 
inquire about the matter were told that it was merely a boy 
who had spent his advance and tried to run away. Had the 
owners of the vessel known anything of the matter, they 
would have interfered at once ; but they either knew nothing 
of it, or heard, like the rest, that it was only an unruly boy 
who was sick of his bargain. As soon as the boy found him- 
self actually at sea, and upon a voyage of two or three years 
in length, his spirits failed him; he refused to work, and 
became so miserable, that Captain Arthur took him into 
the cabin, where he assisted the steward, and occasionally 
pulled and hauled about decks. He was in this capacity 



TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 299 

when we saw him ; and though it was much better for him 
than the hfe in a forecastle, and the hard work, watching, 
and exposure, which his delicate frame could not have 
borne, yet, to be joined with a black fellow in waiting upon 
a man whom he probably looked upon as but little, in point 
of education and manners, above one of his father's servants, 
was almost too much for his spirit to bear. Had he entered 
upon this situation of his own free will, he could have en- 
dured it; but to have been deceived, and, in addition to 
that, forced into it, was intolerable. He made every effort 
to go home in our ship, but his captain refused to part with 
him except in the way of exchange, and that he could not 
effect. If tl is account of the whole matter, which we had 
from the boy, and which was confirmed by all the crew, be 
correct, I cannot understand why Captain Arthur should 
have refused to let him go, especially being a captain who 
had the name, not only with that crew, but with all whom 
he had ever commanded, of an unusually kind-hearted man. 
The truth is, the unlimited power which merchant captains 
have, upon long voyages on strange coasts, takes away a 
sense of responsibility, and too often, even in men other- 
wise well-disposed, substitutes a disregard for the rights 
and feelings of others. The lad was sent on shore to join 
the gang at the hide-house ; from whence, I was afterwards 
rejoiced to hear, he effected his escape, and went down to 
Callao in a small Spanish schooner; and from Callao, he 
probably returned to England. 

Soon after the arrival of the California^ I spoke to Captain 
Arthur about Hope ; and as he had known him on the voy- 
age before, and was very fond of him, he immediately went 
to see him, gave him proper medicines, and, under such care, 
he began rapidly to recover. The Saturday night before 
our sailing, I spent an hour in the oven, and took leave of my 
Kanaka friends; and, really, this was the only thing con- 
nected with leaving California which was in any way un- 
pleasant. I felt an interest and affection for many of these 
simple, true-hearted men, such as I never felt before but 



300 TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 

for a near relation. Hope shook me by the hand ; said he 
should soon be well again, and ready to work for me when 
I came upon the coast, next voyage, as officer of the ship ; 
and told me not to forget, when I became captain, how to 
be kind to the sick. Old '"Mr. Bingham"" and ''King Man- 
nini''' went down to the boat with me, shook me heartily 
by the hand, "^-ished us a good voyage, and went back to the 
oven, chanting one of their deep monotonous songs, the 
burden of which I gathered to be about us and our voyage. 

Sunday. May StJi. This promised to be our last day in 
CaHfornia. Our forty thousand hides, thirty thousand 
horns, besides several barrels of otter and beaver skins, 
were all stowed below, and the hatches calked down. All 
our spare spars were taken on board and lashed ; our water- 
casks secured; and our live stock, consisting of four bul- 
locks, a dozen sheep, a dozen or more pigs, and three or 
four dozen of poultr}', were all stowed away in their different 
quarters : the bullocks in the long-boat, the sheep in a pen 
on the fore hatch, and the pigs in a sty under the bows of 
the long-boat, and the poultry in their proper coop, and the 
jolly-boat was full of hay for the sheep and bullocks. Our 
unusually large cargo, together with the stores for a five 
months' vo3-age. brought the ship channels down into the 
water. In addition to this, she had been steeved so thor- 
oughly, and was so bound by the compression of her cargo, 
forced into her by so powerful machinery, that she was like 
a man in a strait jacket, and would be but a dull sailer, until 
she had worked herself loose. 

The California had finished discharging her cargo, and 
was to get under weigh at the same time v,dth us. Hav- 
ing washed down decks and got our breakfast, the two 
vessels lay side by side, in complete readiness for sea, our 
ensigns hanging from the peaks, and our tall spars reflected 
from the glassy surface of the river, which, since sun-rise, 
had been unbroken by a ripple. At length, a few whiffs 
came across the water, and. by eleven o'clock, the regular 
north-west wind set steadilv in. There was no need of 



TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 301 

calling all hands, for we had all been hanging about the 
forecastle the whole forenoon, and were ready for a start 
upon the first sign of a breeze. All eyes were aft upon the 
captain, who was walking the deck, with, every now and 
then, a look to windward. He made a sign to the mate, 
who came forward, took his station deliberately between 
the knight-heads, cast a glance aloft, and called out, "All 
hands, lay aloft and loose the sails !" We were half in the 
rigging before the order came, and never since we left Boston 
were the gaskets off the yards, and the rigging overhauled, 
in a shorter time. "All ready forward, sir!" — "All 
ready the main !" — "Cross- jack yards all ready, sir !" — 
"Lay down, all hands but one on each yard ! " The yard- 
arm and bunt gaskets were cast off ; and each sail hung by 
the jigger, with one man standing by the tie to let it go. At 
the same moment that we sprang aloft, a dozen hands 
sprang into the rigging of the California, and in an instant 
were all over her yards ; and her sails, too, were ready to 
be dropped at the word. In the mean time our bow gun 
had been loaded and run out, and its discharge was to be 
the signal for dropping the sails. A cloud of smoke came 
out of our bows ; the echoes of the gun rattled our farewell 
among the hills of California ; and the two ships were cov- 
ered, from head to foot, with their white canvas. For a few 
minutes, all was uproar and apparent confusion : men flying 
about like monkeys in the rigging ; ropes and blocks flying ; 
orders given and answered, and the confused noises of men 
singing out at the ropes. The topsails came to the mast- 
heads with " Cheerily, men ! " and, in a few minutes, every 
sail was set ; for the wind was light. The head sails were 
backed, the windlass came round "slip — slap" to the cry 
of the sailors ; — "Hove short, sir," said the mate ; — "Up 
with him!" — "Aye, aye, sir." — A few hearty and long 
heaves, and the anchor showed its head. "Hook cat!" 
— The fall was stretched along the decks ; — all hands laid 
hold; — "Hurrah, for the last time," said the mate; and 
the anchor came to the cat-head to the tune of "Time for 



302 TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 

us to go," with a loud chorus. Even-thing was done quick, 
as though it were for the last time. The head yards were 
filled away, and our ship began to move through the water 
on her homeward-bound course. 

The California had got under weigh at the same moment ; 
and we sailed down the narrow bay abreast, and were just off 
the mouth, and finding ourselves gradually shooting ahead 
of her, were on the point of giving her three parting cheers, 
when, suddenly, we foand ourselves stopped short, and the 
California ranging fast ahead of us. A bar stretches across 
the mouth of the harbor, with water enough to float common 
vessels, but, being low in the water, and having kept well 
to leeward, as we were bound to the southward, we had 
stuck fast, while the California, being Hght, had floated 
over. 

We kept all sail on, in the hope of forcing over, but failing 
in this, we hove aback, and lay waiting for the tide, which 
was on the flood, to take us back into the channel. This 
was somewhat of a damper to us, and the captain looked 
not a little mortified and vexed. "'This is the same place 
where the Rosa got ashore," observed our red-headed second 
mate, most mal-a-propos. A malediction on the Rosa, 
and him too, was all the answer he got, and he slunk off to 
leeward. In a few minutes, the force of the wind and the 
rising of the tide backed us into the stream, and we were 
on our way to our old anchoring-place, the tide setting 
swiftly up, and the ship barely manageable, in the light 
breeze. We came-to, in our old berth, opposite the hide- 
house, whose inmates were not a little surprised to see us 
return. We felt as though we were tied to California ; and 
some of the crew swore that they never should get clear of 
the bloody coast. 

In about half an hour, which was near high water, the 
order was given to man the windlass, and again the anchor 
was catted ; but not a word was said about the last time. 
The California had come back on finding that we had 
returned, and was hove-to, waiting for us, off the point. 



TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 303 

This time we passed the bar safely, and were soon up with 
the California, who filled away, and kept us company. 
She seemed desirous of a trial of speed, and our captain 
accepted the challenge, although we were loaded down to 
the bolts of our chain plates, as deep as a sand-barge, and 
bound so taught with our cargo that we were no more fit for 
a race than a man in fetters ; — while our antagonist was 
in her best trim. Being clear of the point, the breeze be- 
came stiff, and the royal masts bent under our sails, but we 
would not take them in until we saw three boys spring aloft 
into the rigging of the California; when they were all furled 
at once, but with orders to stay aloft at the top-gallant mast- 
heads, and loose them again at the word. It was my duty 
to furl the fore royal; and while standing by to loose it 
again, I had a fine view of the scene. From where I stood, 
the two vessels seemed nothing but spars and sails, while 
their narrow decks, far below, slanting over by the force of 
the wind aloft, appeared hardly capable of supporting the 
great fabrics raised upon them. The California was to 
windward of us, and had every advantage ; yet, while the 
breeze was stiff, we held our own. As soon as it began to 
slacken, she ranged a little ahead, and the order was given 
to loose the royals. In an instant the gaskets were off and 
the bunt dropped. " Sheet home the fore royal ! — Weather 
sheet's home!" — "Lee sheet's home!" — "Hoist away, 
sir!" is bawled from aloft. "Overhaul your clewlines!" 
shouts the mate. "Aye, aye, sir! all clear!" — "Taught 
leech ! belay ! Well the lee brace ; haul taught to wind- 
ward" — and the royals are set. These brought us up 
again; but the wind continuing hght, the California set 
hers, and it was soon evident that she was walking away 
from us. Our captain then hailed, and said that he should 
keep off to his course; adding — "She isn't the Alert now. 
If I had her in your trim, she would have been out of sight 
by this time." This was good-naturedly answered from 
the California, and she braced sharp up, and stood close 
upon the wind up the coast; while we squared away our 



304 TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 

yards, and stood before the wind to the south-south-west. 
The Calif oryiid' s crew manned her weather rigging, waved 
their hats in the air, and gave us three hearty cheers, which 
we answered as heartily, and the customary single cheer 
came back to us from over the water. She stood on her 
way, doomed to eighteen months' or two years' hard service 
upon that hated coast, while we were making our way to 
our home, which every hour and every mile was bringing us 
nearer to. 

As soon as we parted company with the California, all 
hands were sent aloft to set the studding-sails. Booms were 
rigged out, tacks and halyards rove, sail after sail packed 
upon her, until every available inch of canvas was spread, 
that we might not lose a breath of the fair wind. We could 
now see how much she was cramped and deadened by her 
cargo ; for with a good breeze on her quarter, and every 
stitch of canvas spread, we could not get more than six 
knots out of her. She had no more Hfe in her than if she 
were water-logged. The log was hove several times; but 
she was doing her best. We had hardly patience with her, 
but the older sailors said — "Stand by ! you'll see her work 
herself loose in a week or two, and then she'll walk up to 
Cape Horn like a race-horse." 

When all sail had been set, and the decks cleared up, the 
California was a speck in the horizon, and the coast lay 
Hke a low cloud along the north-east. At sun-set they were 
both out of sight, and we were once more upon the ocean, 
where sky and water meet. 



CHAPTER XXX 

At eight o'clock all hands were called aft, and the watches 
set for the voyage. Some changes were made ; but I was 
glad to find myself still in the larboard watch. Our crew 
was somewhat diminished ; for a man and a boy had gone 
in the Pilgrim; another was second mate of the Ayacucho; 
and a third, the oldest man of the crew, had broken down 
under the hard work and constant exposure on the coast, 
and, having had a stroke of the palsy, was left behind at 
the hide-house, under the charge of Captain Arthur. The 
poor fellow wished very much to come home in the ship; 
and he ought to have been brought home in her. But a 
live dog is better than a dead lion, and a sick sailor belongs 
to nobody's mess; so he was sent ashore with the rest of 
the lumber, which was only in the way. By these diminu- 
tions, we were short-handed for a voyage round Cape Horn 

in the dead of winter. Beside S and myself, there 

were only five in the forecastle; who, together with four 
boys in the steerage, the sailmaker, carpenter, etc., com- 
posed the whole crew. In addition to this, we were only 
three or four days out, when the sailmaker, who was the old- 
est and best seaman on board, was taken with the palsy, and 
was useless for the rest of the voyage. The constant wading 
in the water, in all weathers, to take off hides, together with 
the other labors, is too much for old men, and for any who 
have not good constitutions. Beside these two men of ours, 
the second officer of the California and the carpenter of the 
Pilgrim broke down under the work, and the latter died at 
Santa Barbara. The young man, too, who came out with 
us from Boston in the Pilgrim, had to be taken from his 
X 30s 



3o6 TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 

berth before the mast and made clerk, on account of a fit of 
rheumatism which attacked him soon after he came upon the 
coast. By the loss of the sailmaker, our watch was reduced 
to five, of whom two were boys, who never steered but in 
fine weather, so that the other two and myself had to stand 
at the wheel four hours apiece out of every twenty-four; 
and the other watch had only four helmsmen. "Never 
mind — we're homeward bound !" was the answer to every- 
thing; and we should not have minded this, were it not 
for the thought that we should be off Cape Horn in the 
very dead of winter. It was now the first part of May ; 
and two months would bring us off the Cape in July, 
which is the worst month in the year there ; when the sun 
rises at nine and sets at three, giving eighteen hours 
night, and there is snow and rain, gales and high seas, in 
abundance. 

The prospect of meeting this in a ship half manned, and 
loaded so deep that every heavy sea must wash her fore and 
aft, was by no means pleasant. The Alert, in her passage 
out, doubled the Cape in the month of February, which is 
midsummer ; and we came round in the Pilgrim in the latter 
part of October, which we thought was bad enough. There 
was only one of our crew who had been off there in the 
winter, and that was in a whaleship, much lighter and 
higher than our ship ; yet he said they had man-killing 
weather for twenty days without intermission, and their 
decks were swept twice, and they were all glad enough to 
see the last of it. The Brandywine frigate, also, in her 
passage round, had sixty days off the Cape, and lost several 
boats by the heavy seas. All this was for our comfort ; yet 
pass it we must ; and all hands agreed to make the best of it. 

During our watches below we overhauled our clothes, and 
made and mended everything for bad weather. Each of us 
had made for himself a suit of oil-cloth or tarpaulin, and 
these we got out, and gave thorough coatings of oil or tar, 
and hung upon the stays to dry. Our stout boots, too, we 
covered over with a thick mixture of melted grease and tar, 



TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 307 

and hung out to dry. Thus we took advantage of the warm 
sun and fine weather of the Pacific to prepare for its other 
face. In the forenoon watches below, our forecastle looked 
like the workshop of what a sailor is, — a Jack at all trades. 
Thick stockings and drawers were darned and patched; 
mittens dragged from the bottom of the chest and mended ; 
comforters made for the neck and ears ; old flannel shirts cut 
up to line monkey-jackets ; south-westers lined with flannel, 
and a pot of paint smuggled forward to give them a coat on 
the outside; and everything turned to hand; so that, al- 
though two years had left us but a scanty wardrobe, yet 
the economy and invention which necessity teaches a 
sailor, soon put each of us in pretty good trim for bad 
weather, even before we had seen the last of the fine. Even 
the cobbler's art was not out of place. Several old shoes 
were very decently repaired, and with waxed ends, an awl, 
and the top of an old boot, I made me quite a respectable 
sheath for my knife. 

There was one difficulty, however, which nothing that 
we could do would remedy ; and that was the leaking of 
the forecastle, which made it very uncomfortable in bad 
weather, and rendered half of the berths tenantless. The 
tightest ships, in a long voyage, from the constant strain 
which is upon the bowsprit, will leak, more or less, round 
the heel of the bowsprit, and the bitts, which come down 
into the forecastle; but, in addition to this, we had an 
unaccountable leak on the starboard bow, near the cat-head, 
which drove us from the forward berths on that side, and, 
indeed, when she was on the starboard tack, from all the 
forward berths. One of the after berths, too, leaked in very 
bad weather ; so that in a ship which was in other respects 
as tight as a bottle, and brought her cargo to Boston per- 
fectly dry, we had, after every effort made to prevent it, in 
the way of calking and leading, a forecastle with only three 
dry berths for seven of us. However, as there is never but 
one watch below at a time, by "turning in and out," we did 
pretty well. And, there being, in our watch, but three of us 



3o8 TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 

who lived forward, we generally had a dry berth apiece in 

bad weather.^ 

All this, however, was but anticipation. We were still in 
fine weather in the North Pacific, running down the north- 
east trades, which we took on the second day after leaving 
San Diego. 

Sunday, May isth, one week out, we were in latitude 14° 
56' N., long. 116° 14' W., having gone, by reckoning, over 
thirteen hundred miles in seven days. In fact, ever since 
leaving San Diego, we had had a fair wind, and as much as 
we wanted of it. For seven days, our lower and topmast 
studding-sails were set all the time, and our royals and top- 
gallant studding-sails, whenever she could stagger under 
them. Indeed, the captain had shown, from the moment 
we got to sea, that he was to have no boy's play, but that 
the ship had got to carry all she could, and that he was going 
to make up, by "cracking on" to her, what she wanted in 
lightness. In this way, we frequently made three degrees 
of latitude, besides something in longitude, in the course of 
twenty-four hours. — Our days were spent in the usual 
ship's work. The rigging which had become slack from 
being long in port was to be set up ; breast backstays got 
up ; studding-sail booms rigged upon the main-yard ; and 
royal studding-sails got ready for the light trades ; ring- 
tail set ; and new rigging fitted and sails got ready for Cape 
Horn. For, with a ship's gear, as well as a sailor's wardrobe, 
fine weather must be improved to get ready for the bad to 
come. Our forenoon watch below, as I have said, was given 
to our own work, and our night watches were spent in the 
usual manner : — a trick at the wheel, a look-out on the 
forecastle, a nap on a coil of rigging under the lee of the rail ; 
a yarn round the windlass-end; or, as was generally my 
way, a solitary walk fore and aft, in the weather waist, 

^ On removing the cat-head, after the ship arrived at Boston, it was 

found that there were two holes under it which had been bored for the pur- 
pose of driving treenails, and which, accidentally, had not been plugged up 
when the cat-head was placed over them. This was sufficient to account 
for the leak, and for our not having been able to discover and stop it. 



TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 309 

between the windlass-end and the main tack. Every wave 
that she threw aside brought us nearer home, and every 
day's observation at noon showed a progress which, if it 
continued, would, in less than five months, take us into 
Boston Bay. This is the pleasure of Hfe at sea, — fine 
weather, day after day, without interruption, — fair wind, 
and a plenty of it, — and homeward bound. Every one 
was in good humor ; things went right ; and all was done 
with a will. At the dog watch, all hands came on deck, 
and stood round the weather side of the forecastle, or sat 
upon the windlass, and sung sea songs, and those ballads of 
pirates and highwaymen, which sailors delight in. Home, 
too, and what we should do when we got there, and when and 
how we should arrive, was no infrequent topic. Every 
night, after the kids and pots were put away, and we had 
lighted our pipes and cigars at the galley, and gathered 
about the windlass, the first question was, — 

"Well, Tom, what was the latitude to-day?" 

"Why, fourteen, north, and she has been going seven 
knots ever since." 

"Well, this will bring us up to the line in five days." 

"Yes, but these trades won't last twenty-four hours 
longer," says an old salt, pointing with the sharp of his hand 
to leeward, — "I know that by the look of the clouds." 

Then came all manner of calculations and conjectures as 
to the continuance of the wind, the weather under the line, 
the south-east trades, etc., and rough guesses as to the time 
the ship would be up with the Horn ; and some, more ven- 
turous, gave her so many days to Boston light, and offered 
to bet that she would not exceed it. 

"You'd better wait till you get round Cape Horn," says 
an old croaker. 

"Yes," says another, "you may see Boston, but you've 
got to 'smell heir before that good day." 

Rumors also of what had been said in the cabin, as usual, 
found their way forward. The steward had heard the cap- 
tain say something about the straits of Magellan, and the man 



3IO TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 

at the wheel fancied he had heard him tell the "passenger" 
that, if he found the wind ahead and the weather ver}'- bad 
oflf the Cape, he should stick her off for New Holland, and 
come home round the Cape of Good Hope. 

This passenger — the first and only one we had had, 
except to go from port to port, on the coast, was no one else 
than a gentleman whom I had known in my better days; 
and the last person I should have expected to have seen on 

the coast of California — Professor N , of Cambridge. 

I had left him quietly seated in the chair of Botany and 
Ornithology, in Harvard University; and the next I saw 
of him, was strolling about San Diego beach, in a sailor's 
pea-jacket, with a wide straw hat, and barefooted, with his 
trowsers rolled up to his knees, picking up stones and shells. 
He had travelled over land to the North-west Coast, and 
come down in a small vessel to Monterey. There he learned 
that there was a ship at the leeward, about to sail for Bos- 
ton ; and, taking passage in the Pilgrim, which was then at 
Monterey, he came slowly down, visiting the intermediate 
ports, and examining the trees, plants, earths, birds, etc., 
and joined us at San Diego shortly before we sailed. The 
second mate of the Pilgrim told me that they had got an old 
gentleman on board who knew me, and came from the 
college that I had been in. He could not recollect his name, 
but said he was a "sort of an oldish man," with white hair, 
and spent all his time in the bush, and along the beach, 
picking up flowers and shells, and such truck, and had a 
dozen boxes and barrels, full of them, I thought over 
everybody who would be likely to be there, but could fix 
upon no one ; when, the next day, just as we were about to 
shove off from the beach, he came down to the boat, in the 
rig I have described, with his shoes in his hand, and his 
pockets full of specimens. I knew him at once, though I 
should not have been more surprised to have seen the Old 
South steeple shoot up from the hide-house. He probably 
had no less difficulty in recognizing me. As we left home 
about the same time, we had nothing to tell one another; 



TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 311 

and owing to our different situations on board, I saw but 
little of him on the passage home. Sometimes, when I 
was at the wheel of a calm night, and the steering required 
no attention, and the officer of the watch was forward, he 
would come aft and hold a short yarn with me; but this 
was against the rules of the ship, as is, in fact, all intercourse 
between passengers and the crew. I was often amused to 
see the sailors puzzled to know what to make of him, and 
to hear their conjectures about him and his business. 
They were as much puzzled as our old sailmaker was with 
the captain's instruments in the cabin. He said there were 
three : — the chro-noraetev, the chre-nometer, and the the- 
nometer. (Chronometer, barometer, and thermometer.) 
The Pilgrim's crew christened Mr. N. ''Old Curious," from 
his zeal for curiosities, and some of them said that he was 
crazy, and that his friends let him go about and amuse him- 
self in this way. Why else a rich man (sailors call every 
man rich who does not work with his hands, and wears a 
long coat and cravat) should leave a Christian country, and 
come to such a place as California, to pick up shells and 
stones, they could not understand. One of them, however, 
an old salt, who had seen something more of the world 
ashore, set all to rights, as he thought, — "Oh, 'vast there ! 
— You don't know anything about them craft. I've seen 
them colleges, and know the ropes. They keep all such 
things for cur'osities, and study 'em, and have men a' pur- 
pose to go and get 'em. This old chap knows what he's 
about. He a'n't the child you take him for. He'll carry 
all these things to the college, and if they are better than any 
that they have had before, he'll be head of the college. 
Then, by-and-by, somebody else will go after some more, 
and if they beat him, he'll have to go again, or else give up 
his berth. That's the way they do it. This old covey 
knows the ropes. He has worked a traverse over 'em, and 
come 'way out here, where nobody's ever been afore, and 
where they'll never think of coming." This explanation 
satisfied Jack ; and as it raised Mr. N.'s credit for capacity, 



312 TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 

and was near enough to the truth for common purposes, I 
did not disturb it. 

With the exception of Mr. N., we had no one on board 
but the regular ship's company, and the live stock. Upon 
this, we had made a considerable inroad. We killed one 
of the bullocks every four days, so that they did not last 
us up to the line. We, or rather, they, then began upon the 
sheep and the poultry, for these never come into Jack's 
mess.^ The pigs were left for the latter part of the voyage, 
for they are sailors, and can stand all weathers. We had 
an old sow on board, the mother of a numerous progeny, 
who had been twice round the Cape of Good Hope, and once 
round Cape Horn. The last time going round, was very 
nearly her death We heard her squealing and moaning 
one dark night, after it had been snowing and hailing for 
several hours, and, getting into the sty, we found her nearly 
frozen to death. We got some straw, an old sail, and other 
things, and wrapped her up in a corner of the sty, where she 
staid until we got into fine weather again. 

Wednesday, May i8th. Lat. 9° 54' N., long. 113° 17' W. 
The north-east trades had now left us, and we had the usual 
variable winds which prevail near the line, together with 

^ The customs as to the allowance of " grub " are very nearly the same 
in all American merchantmen. Whenever a pig is killed, the sailors have 
one mess from it. The rest goes to the cabin. The smaller live stock, 
poultry, etc., they never taste. And, indeed, they do not complain of this, 
for it would take a great deal to supply them with a good meal, and without 
the accompaniments (which could hardly be furnished to them), it would not 
be much better than salt beef. But even as to the salt beef, they are scarcely 
dealt fairly with ; for whenever a barrel is opened, before any of the beef is 
put into the harness-cask, the steward comes up, and picks it all over, and 
takes out the best pieces (those that have any fat in them) for the cabin. 
This was done in both the vessels I was in, and the men said that it was 
usual in other vessels. Indeed, it is made no secret, but some of the crew 
are usually called to help in assorting and putting away the pieces. By 
this arrangement, the hard, dry pieces, which the sailors call old horse," 
come to their share. 

There is a singular piece of rhyme, traditional among sailors, which they 
say over such pieces of beef. I do not know that it ever appeared in print 
before. When seated round the kid, if a particularly bad piece is found, 
one of them takes it up, and addressing it repeats these lines : 



TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 313 

some rain. So long as we were in these latitudes, we had 
but little rest in our watch on deck at night, for, as the winds 
were light and variable, and we could not lose a breath, we 
were all the watch bracing the yards, and taking in and 
making sail, and "humbugging" with our flying kites. 
A little puff of wind on the larboard quarter, and then — 
"larboard fore braces!" and studding-booms were rigged 
out, studding-sails set alow and aloft, the yards trimmed, 
and jibs and spanker in ; when it would come as calm as a 
duck-pond, and the man at the wheel stand with the palm 
of his hand up, feeling for the wind. "Keep her off a 
little!" "All aback forward, sir!" cries a man from the 
forecastle Down go the braces again; in come the stud- 
ding-sails, all in a mess, which half an hour won't set right ; 
yards braced sharp up; and she's on the starboard tack, 
close hauled. The studding-sails must now be cleared away, 
and set up in the tops, and on the booms. By the time this 
is done, and you are looking out for a soft plank for a nap, — 
"Lay aft here, and square in the head yards!" and the 
studding-sails are all set again on the starboard side. So it 
goes until it is eight bells, — call the watch, — heave the 
log, — relieve the wheel, and go below the larboard watch. 
Sunday, May 22d. Lat. 5° 14' N., long. 166° 45' W. We 

' Old horse ! old horse ! what brought you here? ' 

— ' From Sacarap' to Portland pier 

I've carted stone this many a year : 

Till, killed by blows and sore abuse, 

They salted me down for sailors' use. 

The sailors they do me despise : 

They turn me over and damn my eyes ; 

Cut ofiE my meat, and pick my bones, 

And pitch the rest to Davy Jones.' 

There is a story current among seamen, that a beef-dealer was convicted, 
at Boston, of having sold old horse for ship's stores, instead of beef, and 
had been sentenced to be confined in jail, until he should eat the whole of 
it ; and that he is now lying in Boston jail. I have heard this story often, 
on board other vessels beside those of our own nation. It is very generally 
believed, and is always highly commended, as a fair instance of retaliatory 
justice. 



314 TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 

were now a fortnight out, and within iive degrees of the line, 
to which two days of good breeze would take us ; but we 
had, for the most part, what the sailors call "an Irishman's 
hurricane, — right up and down." This day it rained 
nearly all day, and being Sunday, and nothing to do, we 
stopped up the scuppers and filled the decks with rain 
water, and bringing all our clothes on deck, had a grand 
wash, fore and aft. When this was through, we stripped, to 
our drawers, and taking pieces of soap, with strips of canvas 
for towels, we turned-to and soaped, washed, and scrubbed 
one another down, to get off, as we said, the California dust; 
for the common wash in salt water, which is all that Jack 
can get, being on an allowance of fresh, had little efficacy, 
and was more for taste than utility. The captain was be- 
low all the afternoon, and we had something nearer to a 
Saturnalia than anything we had yet seen ; for the mate 
came into the scuppers, with a couple of boys to scrub him, 
and got into a battle with them in heaving water. By un- 
plugging the holes, we let the soap-suds off the decks, and 
in a short time had a new supply of rain water, in which we 
had a grand rinsing. It was surprising to see how much 
soap and fresh water did for the complexions of many of us ; 
how much of what we supposed to be tan and sea-blacking, 
we got rid of. The next day, the sun rising clear, the ship 
was covered, fore and aft, with clothes of all sorts, hanging 
out to dry. 

As we approached the line, the wind became more 
easterly, and the weather clearer, and in twenty days from 
San Diego, — 

Saturday, May 2Stk, at about three P.M., with a fine breeze 
from the east-south-east, we crossed the equator. In 
twenty-four hours after crossing the line, which was very 
unusual, we took the regular south-east trades. These 
winds come a little from the eastward of south-east, and, 
with us, they blew directly from the east-south-east, which 
was fortunate for us, for our course was south-by-west, and 
we could thus go one point free. The yards were braced so 



TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 315 

that every sail drew, from the spanker to the flying- jib; 
and the upper yards being squared in a little, the fore and 
main top-gallant studding-sails were set, and just drew 
handsomely. For twelve days this breeze blew steadily, 
not varying a point, and just so fresh that we could carry 
our royals ; and, during the whole time, we hardly started 
a brace. Such progress did we make, that at the end of 
seven days from the time we took the breeze, on 

Sunday, June $th, we were in lat. 19° 29' S., and long. 
118° 01' W., having made twelve hundred miles in seven 
days, very nearly upon a taught bowline. Our good ship 
was getting to be herself again, had increased her rate of 
sailing more than one-third since leaving San Diego. The 
crew ceased complaining of her, and the oflEicers hove the 
log every two hours with evident satisfaction. This was 
glorious sailing. A steady breeze; the light trade-wind 
clouds over our heads; the incomparable temperature of 
the Pacific, — neither hot nor cold ; a clear sun every day, 
and clear moon and stars each night; and new constella- 
tions rising in the south, and the familiar ones sinking in 
the north, as we went on our course, — ''stemming nightly 
toward the pole." Already we had sunk the north star and 
the Great Bear in the northern horizon, and all hands looked 
out sharp to the southward for the Magellan Clouds, which, 
each succeeding night, we expected to make. ''The next 
time we see the north star," said one, "we shall be standing 
to the northward, the other side of the Horn." This was 
true enough, and no doubt it would be a welcome sight; 
for sailors say that in coming home from round Cape Horn, 
and the Cape of Good Hope, the north star is the first land 
you make. 

These trades were the same that, in the passage out in 
the Pilgrim, lasted nearly all the way from Juan Fernandez 
to the line ; blowing steadily on our starboard quarter for 
three weeks, without our starting a brace, or even brailing 
down the skysails. Though we had now the same wind, 
and were in the same latitude with the Pilgrim on her 



3i6 TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 

passage out, yet we were nearly twelve hundred miles to the 
westward of her course ; for the captain, depending upon the 
strong south-west winds which prevail in high southern lati- 
tudes during the winter months, took the full advantage of 
the trades, and stood well to the westward, so far that we 
passed within about two hundred miles of Ducie's Island. 

It was this weather and sailing that brought to m}^ mind 
a little incident that occurred on board the Pilgrim, while 
we were in the same latitude. We were going along at a 
great rate, dead before the wind, with studding-sails out on 
both sides, alow and aloft, on a dark night, just after mid- 
night, and everything as still as the grave, except the wash- 
ing of the water by the vessel's side ; for, being before the 
wind, with a smooth sea, the little brig, covered with can- 
vas, was doing great business, with very little noise. The 
other watch was below, and all our watch, except myself 
and the man at the wheel, were asleep under the lee of the 
boat. The second mate, who came out before the mast, and 
was always very thick with me, had been holding a yarn 
with me, and just gone aft to his place on the quarter-deck, 
and I had resumed my usual walk to and from the windlass- 
end, when, suddenly, we heard a loud scream coming from 
ahead, apparently directly from under the bows. The 
darkness, and complete stillness of the night, and the soli- 
tude of the ocean, gave to the sound a dreadful and almost 
supernatural effect. I stood perfectly still, and my heart 
beat quick. The sound woke up the rest of the watch, 
who stood looking at one another. "What, in the name 
of God, is that?" said the second mate, coming slowly for- 
ward. The first thought I had was, that it might be a 
boat, with the crew of some wrecked vessel, or perhaps 
the boat of some whale-ship, out over night, and we had 
run them down in the darkness. Another scream ! but 
less loud than the first. This started us, and we ran for- 
ward, and looked over the bows, and over the sides, to 
leeward, but nothing was to be seen or heard. What was 
to be done? Call the captain, and then heave the ship 



TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 317 

aback? Just at this moment, in crossing the forecastle, 
one of the men saw a light below, and looking down the 
scuttle, saw the watch all out of their berths, and afoul of 
one poor fellow, dragging him out of his berth, and shaking 
him, to wake him out of a nightm.are. They had been 
waked out of their sleep, and as much alarmed at the scream 
as we were, and were hesitating whether to, come on deck, 
when the second sound, coming directly from one of the 
berths, revealed the cause of the alarm. The fellow got a 
good shaking for the trouble he had given. We made a 
joke of the matter ; and we could well laugh, for our minds 
were not a little relieved by its ridiculous termination. 

We were now close upon the southern tropical line, and, 
with so fine a breeze, were daily leaving the sun behind us, 
and drawing nearer to Cape Horn, for which it behooved us 
to make every preparation. Our rigging was all examined 
and overhauled, and mended, or replaced with new, where 
it was necessary: new and strong bobstays fitted in the 
place of the chain ones, which were worn out; the sprit- 
sail yard and martingale guys and back-ropes set well 
taught ; bran new fore and main braces rove ; top-gallant 
sheets, and wheel-ropes, made of green hide, laid up in the 
form of rope, were stretched and fitted; and new topsail 
clewlines, etc., rove; new fore topmast back-stays fitted; 
and other preparations made, in good season, that the ropes 
might have time to stretch and become limber before we 
got into cold weather. 

Sunday, June 12th. Lat. 26° 04' S., long. 116° 31' W. 
We had now lost the regular trades, and had the winds 
variable, principally from the westward, and kept on, in a 
southerly course, sailing very nearly upon a meridian, and 
at the end of the week, — 

Sunday, June igth, were in lat. 34° 15' S., and long. 116° 
38' W. 



CHAPTER XXXI 

There began now to be a decided change in the appear- 
ance of things. The days became shorter and shorter; the 
sun running lower in its course each day, and giving less 
and less heat; and the nights so cold as to prevent our 
sleeping on deck ; the Magellan Clouds in sight, of a clear 
night; the skies looking cold and angry; and, at times, a 
long, heavy, ugly sea, setting in from the southward, told 
us what we were coming to. Still, however, we had a fine, 
strong breeze, and kept on our way, under as much sail as 
our ship would bear. Toward the middle of the week, the 
wind hauled to the southward, which brought us upon a 
taught bowline, made the ship meet, nearly head-on, the 
heavy swell which rolled from that direction ; and there was 
somethiDg not at all encouraging in the manner in which she 
met it. Being so deep and heavy, she wanted the buoyancy 
which should have carried her over the seas, and she dropped 
heavily into them, the water washing over the decks ; and 
every now and then, when an unusually large sea met her 
fairly upon the bows, she struck it with a sound as dead and 
heavy as that with which a sledge-hammer falls upon the 
pile, and took the whole of it in upon the forecastle, and 
rising, carried it aft in the scuppers, washing the rigging off 
the pins, and carrying along with it everything which was 
loose on deck. She had been acting in this way all of our 
forenoon watch below; as we could tell by the washing of 
the water over our heads, and the heavy breaking of the 
seas against her bows (with a sound as though she were 
striking against a rock), only the thickness of the plank from 
our heads, as we lay in our berths, which were directly 
against the bows. At eight bells, the watch was called, and 
we came on deck, one hand going aft to take the wheel, and 

318 



TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 319 

another going to the galley to get the grub for dinner. I 
stood on the forecastle, looking at the seas, which were 
rolling high, as far as the eye could reach, their tops white 
with foam, and the body of them of a deep indigo blue, re- 
flecting the bright rays of the sun. Our ship rose slowly 
over a few of the largest of them, until one immense fellow 
came rolling on, threatening to cover her, and which I was 
sailor enough to know, by " the feeling of her " under my feet, 
she would not rise over. I sprang upon the knight-heads, 
and seizing hold of the fore-stay with my hands, drew myself 
up upon it. My feet were just off the stanchion, when she 
struck fairly into the middle of the sea, and it washed her 
fore and aft, burying her in the water. As soon as she rose 
out of it, I looked aft, and everything forward of the main- 
mast, except the long-boat, which was griped and double- 
lashed down to the ring-bolts, was swept off clear. The 
galley, the pig-sty, the hen-coop, and a large sheep-pen 
which had been built upon the fore-hatch, were all gone, in 
the twinkling of an eye — leaving the deck as clean as a 
chin new-reaped — and not a stick left, to show where they 
had stood. In the scuppers lay the galley, bottom up, and 
a few boards floating about, — the wreck of the sheep-pen, 
— and half a dozen miserable sheep floating among them, 
wet through, and not a little frightened at the sudden change 
that had come upon them. As soon as the sea had washed 
by, all hands sprung up out of the forecastle to see what had 
become of the ship ; and in a few moments the cook and Old 
Bill crawled out from under the galley, where they had been 
lying in the water, nearly smothered, with the galley over 
them. Fortunately, it rested against the bulwarks, or it 
would have broken some of their bones. When the water 
ran off, we picked the sheep up, and put them in the long- 
boat, got the galley back in its place, and set things a little 
to rights; but, had not our ship had uncommonly high 
bulwarks and rail, everything must have been washed 
overboard, not excepting Old Bill and the cook. Bill had 
been standing at the galley-door, with the kid of beef in his 



320 TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 

hand for the forecastle mess, when, away he went, kid, beef, 
and all. He held on to the kid till the last, like a good fel- 
low, but the beef was gone, and when the water had run off, 
we saw it lying high and dry, like a rock at low tide — noth- 
ing could hurt that. We took the loss of our beef very easily, 
consoling ourselves with the recollection that the cabin 
had more to lose than we ; and chuckled not a little at seeing 
the remains of the chicken-pie and pancakes floating in the 
scuppers. "This will never do !" was what some said, and 
every one felt. Here we were, not yet within a thousand 
miles of the latitude of Cape Horn, and our decks swept by 
a sea, not one-half so high as we must expect to find there. 
Some blamed the captain for loading his ship so deep, when 
he knew what he must expect ; while others said that the 
wind was always south-west, off the Cape, in the winter; 
and that, running before it, we should not mind the seas 
so much. When we got down into the forecastle. Old Bill, 
who was somewhat of a croaker, — having met with a great 
many accidents at sea, — said that if that was the way she 
was going to act, we might as well make our wills, and bal- 
ance the books at once, and put on a clean shirt. " 'Vast 
there, you bloody old owl ! you're always hanging out blue 
lights ! You're frightened by the ducking you got in the 
scuppers, and can't take a joke ! What's the use in being 
always on the look-out for Davy Jones?" "Stand by!" 
says another, "and we'll get an afternoon watch below, by 
this scrape;" but in this they were disappointed, for at 
two bells, all hands were called and set to work, getting 
lashings upon everything on deck ; and the captain talked of 
sending down the long top-gallant-masts; but, as the sea 
went down toward night, and the wind hauled abeam, we 
left them standing, and set the studding-sails. 

The next day, all hands were turned-to upon unbending 
the old sails, and getting up the new ones ; for a ship, unlike 
people on shore, puts on her best suit in bad weather. The 
old sails were sent down, and three new topsails, and new 
fore and main courses, jib, and fore topmast stay-sail, which 



TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 321 

were made on the coast, and never had been used, were bent, 
with a complete set of new earings, robands, and reef- 
points ; and reef-tackles were rove to the courses, and spill- 
ing-lines to the topsails. These, with new braces and clew- 
lines, fore and aft, gave us a good suit of running rigging. 

The wind continued westerly, and the weather and sea 
less rough since the day on which we shipped the heavy 
sea, and we were making great progress under studding- 
sails, with our Ught sails all set, keeping a little to the east- 
ward of south; for the captain, depending upon westerly 
winds off the Cape, had kept so far to the westward, that, 
though we were within about five hundred miles of the 
latitude of Gape Horn, we were nearly seventeen hundred 
miles to the westward of it. Through the rest of the week, 
we continued on with a fair wind, gradually, as we got more 
to the southward, keeping a more easterly course, and bring- 
ing the wind on our larboard quarter, until — 

Sunday, June 26th; when, having a fine, clear day, the 
captain got a lunar observation, as well as his meridian 
altitude, which made us in lat. 47° 50' S., long. 113° 49' W. ; 
Cape Horn bearing, according to my calculation, E. S. E. 
^ E., and distant eighteen hundred miles. 

Monday, June 26th. During the first part of this day, 
the wind continued fair, and, as we were going before it, 
it did not feel very cold, so that we kept at work on deck, 
in our common clothes and round jackets. Our watch had 
an afternoon watch below, for the first time since leaving 
San Diego, and having inquired of the third mate what the 
latitude was at noon, and made our usual guesses as to the 
time she would need, to be up with the Horn, we turned-in, 
for a nap. We were sleeping away "at the rate of knots," 
when three knocks on the scuttle, and "All hands, ahoy !" 
started us from our berths. What could be the matter? 
It did not appear to be blowing hard, and looking up through 
the scuttle, we could see that it was a clear day, overhead ; 
yet the watch were taking in sail. We thought there must 
be a sail in sight, and that we were about to heave-to and 



322 TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 

speak her ; and were just congratulating ourselves upon it — 
for we had seen neither sail nor land since we left port — 
when we heard the mate's voice on deck (he tumed-in "all 
standing," and was always on deck the moment he was 
called), singing out to the men who were taking in the stud- 
ding-sails, and asking where his watch were. We did not 
wait for a second call, but tumbled up the ladder; and 
there, on the starboard bow, was a bank of mist, covering 
sea and sky, and dri\-ing directly for us. I had seen the 
same before, in my passage round in the Pilgrim, and knew 
what it meant, and that there was no time to be lost. We 
had nothing on but thin clothes, yet there was not a moment 
to spare, and at it we went. 

The boys of the other watch were in the tops, taking in 
the top-gallant studding-sails, and the lower and top-mast 
studding-sails were coming dowm by the run. It was noth- 
ing but "haul down and clew up," until we got all the stud- 
ding-sails in, and the royals, flpng-jib, and mizen top-gallant 
sail furled, and the ship kept oft a little, to take the squall. 
The fore and main top-gallant sails were still on her, for the 
"old man" did not mean to be frightened in broad daylight, 
and was determined to carry sail till the last minute. We 
all stood waiting for its coming, when the first blast showed 
us that it was not to be trifled \^ath. Rain, sleet, snow, 
and wind, enough to take our breath from us, and make the 
toughest turn his back to windward I The ship lay nearly 
over upon her beam-ends ; the spars and rigging snapped 
and cracked ; and her top-gallant masts bent like whip- 
sticks. "Clew up the fore and main top-gallant sails!" 
shouted the captain, and all hands sprang to the clewlines. 
The decks were standing nearly at an angle of forty-five 
degrees, and the ship going like a mad steed through the 
water, the whole forward part of her in a smother of foam. 
The halyards were let go and the yard clewed down, and the 
sheets started, and in a few minutes the sails smothered and 
kept in by clewhnes and buntlines. — "Furl 'em, sir?" 
asked the mate. — "Let go the topsail halyards, fore and 



TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 323 

aft !" shouted the captain, in answer, at the top of his voice. 
Down came the topsail yards, the reef-tackles were manned 
and hauled out, and we climbed up to windward, and 
sprang into the weather rigging. The violence of the wind, 
and the hail and sleet, driving nearly horizontally across 
the ocean, seemed actually to pin us down to the rigging. 
It was hard work making head against thejn. One after 
another, we got out upon the yards. And here we had work 
to do ; for our new sails, which had hardly been bent long 
enough to get the starch out of them, were as stiff as boards, 
and the new earings and reef-points, stiffened with the sleet, 
knotted like pieces of iron wire. Having only our round 
jackets and straw hats on, we were soon wet through, and 
it was every moment growing colder. Our hands were soon 
stiffened and numbed, which, added to the stiffness of every- 
thing else, kept us a good while on the yard. After we had 
got the sail hauled upon the yard, we had to wait a long time 
for the weather earing to be passed ; but there was no fault 
to be found, for French John was at the earing, and a better 
sailor never laid out on a yard ; so we leaned over the yard, 
and beat our hands upon the sail, to keep them from freez- 
ing. At length the word came — "Haul out to leeward," 

— and we seized the reef-points and hauled the band taught 
for the lee earing. "Taught band — Knot away," and we 
got the first reef fast, and were just going to lay down, when 

— "Two reefs — two reefs !" shouted the mate, and we had 
a second reef to take, in the same way. When this was fast, 
we laid down on deck, manned the halyards to leeward, 
nearly up to our knees in water, set the topsail, and then 
laid aloft on the main topsail yard, and reefed that sail in 
the same manner ; for, as I have before stated, we were a 
good deal reduced in numbers, and, to make it worse, the 
carpenter, only two days before, cut his leg with an axe, so 
that he could not go aloft. This weakened us so that we 
could not well manage more than one topsail at a time, in 
such weather as this, and, of course, our labor was doubled. 
From the main topsail yard, we went upon the main yard, 



324 TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 

and took a reef in the main-sail. No sooner had we got on 
deck, than — "Lay aloft there, mizen- top-men, and close- 
reef the mizen topsail ! " This called me ; and being nearest 
to the rigging, I got first aloft, and out to the weather earing. 
English Ben was on the yard just after me, and took the lee 
earing, and the rest of our gang were soon on the yard, and 
began to fist the sail, when the mate considerately sent up 
the cook and steward, to help us. I could now account for 
the long time it took to pass the other earings, for, to do 
my best, with a strong hand to help me at the dog's ear, I 
could not get it passed until I heard them beginning to 
complain in the bunt. One reef after another we took in, 
until the sail was close-reefed, when we went down and 
hoisted away at the halyards. In the mean time, the jib 
had been furled and the stay-sail set, and the ship, under her 
reduced sail, had got more upright and was under manage- 
ment ; but the two top-gallant sails were still hanging in the 
buntlines, and slatting and jerking as though they would 
take the masts out of her. We gave a look aloft, and knew 
that our work was not done yet ; and sure enough, no sooner 
did the mate see that we were on deck, than — "Lay aloft 
there, four of you, and furl the top-gallant sails!" This 
called me again, and two of us went aloft, up the fore rig- 
ging, and two more up the main, upon the top-gallant yards. 
The shrouds were now iced over, the sleet having formed a 
crust or cake round all the standing rigging, and on the 
weather side of the masts and yards. When we got upon 
the yard, my hands were so numb that I could not have 
cast off the knot of the gasket to have saved my life. We 
both lay over the yard for a few seconds, beating our hands 
upon the sail, until we started the blood into our fingers' 
ends, and at the next moment our hands were in a burning 
heat. My companion on the yard was a lad, who came out 
in the ship a weak, puny boy, from one of the Boston schools, 
— "no larger than a sprit-sail sheet knot," nor "heavier 
than a paper of lamp-black," and "not strong enough to 
haul a shad off a gridiron," but who was now "as long as a 



TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 32S 

spare top-mast, strong enough to knock down an ox, and 
hearty enough to eat him." We fisted the sail together, and 
after six or eight minutes of hard hauling and pulling and 
beating down the sail, which was as stiff as sheet iron, we 
managed to get it furled ; and snugly furled it must be, for 
we knew the mate well enough to be certain that if it got 
adrift again, we should be called up from our watch below, 
at any hour of the night, to furl it. 

I had been on the look-out for a moment to jump below 
and clap on a thick jacket and south-wester ; but when we 
got on deck we found that eight bells had been struck, and 
the other watch gone below, so that there were two hours 
of dog watch for us, and a plenty of work to do. It had 
now set in for a steady gale from the south-west; but we 
were not yet far enough to the southward to make a fair 
wind of it, for we must give Terra del Fuego a wide berth. 
The decks were covered with snow, and there was a constant 
driving of sleet. In fact. Cape Horn had set in with good 
earnest. In the midst of all this, and before it became dark, 
we had all the studding-saUs to make up and stow away, 
and then to lay aloft and rig in all the booms, fore and aft, 
and coil away the tacks, sheets, and halyards. This was 
pretty tough work for four or five hands, in the face of a gale 
which almost took us off the yards, and with ropes so stiff 
with ice that it was almost impossible to bend them. I was 
nearly half an hour out on the end of the fore yard, trying 
to coil away and stop down the top-mast studding-sail tack 
and lower halyards. It was after dark when we got through, 
and we were not a Httle pleased to hear four bells struck, 
which sent us below for two hours, and gave us each a pot 
of hot tea with our cold beef and bread, and, what was 
better yet, a suit of thick, dry clothing, fitted for the 
weather, in place of our thin clothes, which were wet through 
and now frozen stiff. 

This sudden turn, for which we were so little prepared, 
was as unacceptable to me as to any of the rest ; for I had 
been troubled for several days with a slight tooth-ache, and 



326 TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 

this cold weather, and wettmg and freezing, were not the 
best things in the world for it. I soon found that it was 
getting strong hold, and running over all parts of my face ; 
and before the watch was out I went aft to the mate, who 
had charge of the medicine-chest, to get something for it. 
But the chest showed like the end of a long voyage, for there 
was nothing that would answer but a few drops of laudanum, 
which must be saved for any emergency ; so I had only to 
bear the pain as well as I could. 

When we went on deck at eight bells, it had stopped 
snovv'ing, and there were a few stars out, but the clouds were 
still black, and it was blowing a steady gale. Just before 
midnight, I went aloft and sent down the mizen royal yard, 
and had the good luck to do it to the satisfaction of the mate, 
who said it was done "out of hand and ship-shape." The 
next four hours below were but little relief to me, for I lay 
awake in my berth, the whole time, from the pain in my 
face, and heard every bell strike, and, at four o'clock, turned 
out with the watch, feeling Httle spirit for the hard duties 
of the day. Bad weather and hard work at sea can be 
borne up against ver}' well, if one only has spirit and health ; 
but there is nothing brings a man down, at such a time, Hke 
bodily pain and want of sleep. There was, however, too 
much to do to allow time to think ; for the gale of yester- 
day, and the hea\-y seas we met with a few days before, 
while we had yet ten degrees more southing to make, had 
convinced the captain that we had something before us 
which was not to be trifled with, and orders were given to 
send do"^TL the long top-gallant masts. The top-gallant and 
royal yards were accordingly struck, the fl}dng jib-boom 
rigged in, and the top-gallant masts sent down on deck, 
and all lashed together by the side of the long-boat. The 
rigging was then sent down and coiled away below, and 
everything made snug aloft. There was not a sailor in the 
ship who was not rejoiced to see these sticks come down; 
for, so long as the yards were aloft, on the least sign of a 
lull, the top-gallant sails were loosed, and then we had to 



TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 327 

furl them again in a snow-squall, and shin up and down 
single ropes caked with ice, and send royal yards down in 
the teeth of a gale coming right from the south pole. It was 
an interesting sight, too, to see our noble ship, dismantled 
of all her top-hamper of long tapering masts and yards and 
boom pointed with spear-head, which ornamented her in 
port; and all that canvas, which a few days before had 
covered her like a cloud, from the truck to the water's edge, 
spreading far out beyond her hull on either side, now gone ; 
and she, stripped, like a wrestler for the fight. It corre- 
sponded too, with the desolate character of her situation ; — 
alone, as she was, batthng with storms, wind, and ice, at 
this extremity of the globe, and in almost constant night. 

Friday, July ist. We were now nearly up to the latitude 
of Cape Horn, and having over forty degrees of easting to 
make, we squared away the yards before a strong westerly 
gale, shook a reef out of the fore topsail, and stood on our 
way, east-by-south, with the prospect of being up with the 
Cape in a week or ten days. As for myself, I had had no 
sleep for forty-eight hours ; and the want of rest, together 
with constant wet and cold, had increased the swelling, so 
that my face was nearly as large as two, and I found it 
impossible to get my mouth open wide enough to eat. In 
this state, the steward applied to the captain for some rice 
to boil for me, but he only got a — "No ! d — you ! Tell 
him to eat salt junk and hard bread, like the rest of them." 
For this, of course, I was much obliged to him, and in truth 
it was just what I expected. However, I did not starve, 
for the mate, who was a man as well as a sailor, and had 
always been a good friend to me, smuggled a pan of rice into 
the galley, and told the cook to boil it for me, and not let 
the "old man" see it. Had it been fine weather, or in port, 
I should have gone below and lain by until my face got well ; 
but in such weather as this, and short-handed as we were, 
it was not for me to desert my post ; so I kept on deck, and 
stood my watch and did my duty as well as I could. 

Saturday, July 2d. This day the sun rose fair, but it 



328 TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 

ran too low in the heavens to give any heat, or thaw out 
our sails and rigging ; yet the sight of it was pleasant ; and 
we had a steady *' reef- top-sail breeze" from the westward. 
The atmosphere, which had previously been clear and cold, 
for the last few hours grew damp, and had a disagreeable, 
wet chilliness in it ; and the man who came from the wheel 
said he heard the captain tell "the passenger" that the ther- 
mometer had fallen several degrees since morning, which 
he could not account for in any other way than by supposing 
that there must be ice near us ; though such a thing had 
never been heard of in this latitude, at this season of the 
year. At twelve o'clock we went below, and had just got 
through dinner, when the cook put his head down the scuttle 
and told us to come on deck and see the finest sight that 
we had ever seen. "Where away, cook?" asked the first 
man who was up. " On the larboard bow." And there lay, 
floating in the ocean, several miles off, an immense, irregular 
mass, its top and points covered with snow, and its centre 
of a deep indigo color. This was an iceberg, and of the 
largest size, as one of our men said who had been in the 
Northern ocean. As far as the eye could reach, the sea in 
every direction was of a deep blue color, the waves running 
high and fresh, and sparkling in the light, and in the midst 
lay this immense mountain-island, its cavities and valleys 
thrown into deep shade, and its points and pinnacles gHt- 
tering in the sun. All hands were soon on deck, looking at 
it, and admiring in various ways its beauty and grandeur. 
But no description can give any idea of the strangeness, 
splendor, and, really, the subHmity, of the sight. Its great 
size ; — for it must have been from two to three miles in 
circumference, and several hundred feet in height; its 
slow motion, as its base rose and sank in the water, and its 
high points nodded against the clouds ; the dashing of the 
waves upon it, which, breaking high with foam, lined its 
base with a white crust ; and the thundering sound of the 
cracking of the mass, and the breaking and tumbling down 
of huge pieces; together with its nearness and approach, 





AN IMMENSE IRREGULAR MASS 

*tHE FIELD ICE COVERED THE OCEAN FOR 
MILES AND MILE^ 




.; i" 



laii , .. „. ... .,,.,^. ..evens to givt any ; 
our sails and rigging ; yet the sight of it •. 
we had — reef-top-sail breeze" from i-ui westward, 
1 he atr ^vhich had previously been clear and cold 

lor the J uours grew damp, and had a disaereeabl 

wetchv :t; and the man who ^ ' 

<'^-<i ■- captain tell " the nn,:; : 

•Jen several - ince mornmg, whic' 

mt for in an^ ...,.., ,.vay than by supposin 
;>e ice near us ; (hough such a thing ha v 
■ of in this ^ ' ' at this season of the 
o'clock we ,w, and had just got 

the cook put nis head down the scuttle 
on deck and see the finest sight " 
aZAU 51 AJirD'35!-5?fe'=^.^V1iM¥t "H^ked thr 

rdbow." And there iay, 

'ig'> gg-iJi^M (OMA ^^4d^ iceberg, and of th 
•-■3 one of our men said who had been in th 

m. As far as the eye could 

:n was of 'l^-n blue color, t 
iiigh and fresh, and r in the light, 

5ay this imm ' ' 

thrown into 

"^'- k, looking &i 

itnd grandeur 
the strangeness 
lue sight. Its grea. 
•> to three miles ir 
nferencc : in height: 

motion, ai S.L.' ;jaoc; ^u.:":^ ■j.au i-a:;K m the ?s ' 
oints nodded against the clouds ; the d 
lich, breaking high witJ 

■Vv'R 



TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 329 

which added a slight element of fear, — all combined to give 
to it the character of true sublimity. The main body of 
the mass was, as I have said, of an indigo color, its base 
crusted with frozen foam; and as it grew thin and trans- 
parent toward the edges and top, its color shaded off from 
a deep blue to the whiteness of snow. It seemed to be drift- 
ing slowly toward the north, so that we kept away and 
avoided it. It was in sight all the afternoon ;' and when we 
got to leeward of it, the wind died away, so that we lay-to 
quite near it for a greater part of the night. Unfortunately, 
there was no moon, but it was a clear night, and we could 
plainly mark the long, regular heaving of the stupendous 
mass, as its edges moved slowly against the stars. Several 
times in our watch loud cracks were heard, which soimded 
as though they must have run through the whole length of 
the iceberg, and several pieces fell down with a thunder- 
ing crash, plunging heavily into the sea. Toward morning, 
a strong breeze sprang up, and we filled away, and left it 
astern, and at daylight it was out of sight. The next day, 
which was 

Sunday, July ^d, the breeze continued strong, the air 
exceedingly chilly, and the thermometer low. In the course 
of the day we saw several icebergs, of different sizes, but 
none so near as the one which we saw the day before^ Some 
of them, as well as we could judge, at the distance at which 
we were, must have been as large as that, if not larger. At 
noon we were in latitude 55° 12' south, and supposed longi- 
tude 89° 5' west. Toward night the wind hauled to the 
southward, and headed us off our course a little, and blew 
a tremendous gale ; but this we did not mind, as there was 
no rain nor snow, and we were already under close sail. 

Monday, July 4th. This was "independent day" in Bos- 
ton. What firing of guns, and ringing of bells, and rejoicings 
of all sorts, in every part of our country ! The ladies (who 
have not gone down to Nahant, for a breath of cool air, and 
sight of the ocean) walking the streets with parasols over 
their heads, and the dandies in their white pantaloons and 



330 TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 

silk stockings ! What quantities of ice-cream have been 
eaten, and what quantities of ice brought into the city from 
a distance, and sold out by the lump and the pound ! The 
smallest of the islands which we saw to-day would have 
made the fortune of poor Jack, if he had had it in Boston ; 
and I dare say he would have had no objection to being there 
with it. This, to be sure, was no place to keep the foiuth of 
July. To keep ourselves warm, and the ship out of the ice, 
was as much as we could do. Yet no one forgot the day; 
and many were the wishes, and conjectures, and compari- 
sons, both serious and ludicrous, which were made among 
all hands. The sun shone bright as long as it was up, only 
that a scud of black clouds was ever and anon driving across 
it. At noon we were in lat. 54° 27' S., and long. 85° 5' W., 
having made a good deal of easting, but having lost in our 
latitude by the heading of the wind. Between daylight and 
dark — that is, between nine o'clock and three — ■ we saw 
thirty-four ice islands, of various sizes ; some no bigger than 
the hull of our vessel, and others apparently nearly as large 
as the one that we first saw; though, as we went on, the 
islands became smaller and more numerous; and, at sun- 
down of this day, a man at the mast-head saw large fields 
of floating ice, called "field ice," at the south-east. This 
kind of ice is much more dangerous than the large islands, 
for those can be seen at a distance, and kept away from; 
but the field-ice, floating in great quantities, and covering 
the ocean for miles and miles, in pieces of every size — large, 
flat, and broken cakes, with here and there an island rising 
twenty and thirty feet, and as large as the ship's hull; — 
this, it is very difficult to steer clear of. A constant look- 
out was necessary ; for any of these pieces, coming v^dth the 
heave of the sea, were large enough to have knocked a hole 
in the ship, and that would have been the end of us ; for no 
boat (even if we could have got one out) could have lived 
in such a sea ; and no man could have hved in a boat in such 
weather. To make our condition still worse, the wind came 
out due east, just after sun-down, and it blew a gale dead 



TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 331 

ahead, with hail and sleet, and a thick fog, so that we could 
not see half the length of the ship. Our chief reliance, the 
prevailing westerly gales, was thus cut off; and here we 
were, nearly seven hundred miles to the westward of the 
Cape, with a gale dead from the eastward, and the weather 
so thick that we could not see the ice with which we were 
surrounded, until it was directly under our bows. At four 
P.M. (it was then quite dark) all hands were called, and sent 
aloft in a violent squall of hail and rain, to take in sail. We 
had now all got on our "Cape Horn rig" — thick boots, 
south-westers coming down over our neck and ears, thick 
trowsers and jackets, and some with oil-cloth suits over all. 
Mittens, too, we wore on deck, but it would not do to go 
aloft with them on, for it was impossible to work with them, 
and, being wet and stiff, they might let a man slip overboard, 
for all the hold he could get upon a rope ; so, we were obliged 
to work with bare hands, which, as well as our faces, were 
often cut with the hail-stones, which fell thick and large. 
Our ship was now all cased with ice, — hull, spars, and 
standing rigging ; — and the running rigging so stiff that we 
could hardly bend it so as to belay it, or, still worse, take a 
knot with it; and the sails nearly as stiff as sheet iron. One 
at a time (for it was a long piece of work and required many 
hands), we furled the courses, mizen topsail, and fore top- 
mast stay-sail, and close-reefed the fore and main topsails, 
and hove the ship to under the fore, with the main hauled 
up by the clewlines and buntlines, and ready to be sheeted 
home, if we found it necessary to make sail to get it to wind- 
ward of an island. A regular look-out was then set, and 
kept by each watch in turn, until the morning. It was a 
tedious and anxious night. It blew hard the whole time, 
and there was an almost constant driving of either rain, hail, 
or snow. In addition to this, it was "as thick as muck," 
and the ice was all about us. The captain was on deck 
nearly the whole night, and kept the cook in the galley, with 
a roaring fire, to make coffee for him, which he took every 
few hours, and once or twice gave a little to his ofl&cers ; but 



332 TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 

not a drop of anything was there for the crew. The cap- 
tain, who sleeps all the daytime, and comes and goes at night 
as he chooses, can have his brandy-and-water in the cabin, 
and his hot coffee at the galley; while Jack, who has to 
stand through everything, and work in wet and cold, can 
have nothing to wet his lips or warm his stomach. This was 
a "temperance ship," and, like too many such ships, the 
temperance was all in the forecastle. The sailor, who only 
takes his one glass as it is dealt out to him, is in danger of be- 
ing drunk ; while the captain, who has all under his hand, 
and can drink as much as he chooses, and upon whose self- 
possession and cool judgment the lives of all depend, may 
be trusted with any amount, to drink at his will. Sailors 
will never be convinced that rum is a dangerous thing, by 
taking it away from them, and giving it to the officers ; nor 
that temperance is their friend, which takes from them what 
they have always had, and gives them nothing in the place 
of it. By seeing it allowed to their officers, they will not be 
convinced that it is taken from them for their good; and 
by receiving nothing in its place, they will not believe that 
it is done in kindness. On the contrary, many of them look 
upon the change as a new instrument of tyranny. Not 
that they prefer rum. I never knew a sailor, in my life, 
who would not prefer a pot of hot coffee or chocolate, in a 
cold night, to all the rum afloat. They all say that rum only 
warms them for a time ; yet, if they can get nothing better, 
they will miss what they have lost. The momentary warmth 
and glow from drinking it ; the break and change which is 
made in a long, dreary watch by the mere calling all hands 
aft and serving of it out ; and the simply having some event 
to look forward to, and to talk about ; give it an importance 
and a use which no one can appreciate who has not stood 
his watch before the mast. On my passage round Cape Horn 
before, the vessel that I was in was not under temperance 
articles, and grog was served out every middle and morning 
watch, and after every reefing of topsails; and though I 
had never drank rum before, and never intend to again, I 



TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 333 

took my allowance then at the capstan, as the rest did, 
merely for the momentary warmth it gave the system, and 
the change in our feelings and aspect of our duties on the 
watch. At the same time, as I have stated, there was not 
a man on board who would not have pitched the rum to the 
dogs (I have heard them say so, a dozen times), for a pot of 
coffee or chocolate ; or even for our common beverage — 
"water bewitched, and tea begrudged," as it was.^ The 
temperance reform is the best thing that ever was under- 
taken for the sailor ; but when the grog is taken from him, 
he ought to have something in its place. As it is now, in 
most vessels, it is a mere saving to the owners; and this 
accounts for the sudden increase of temperance ships, which 
surprised even the best friends of the cause. If every 
merchan t, when he struck grog from the list of the expenses 
of his ship, had been obliged to substitute as much coffee, 
or chocolate, as would give each man a pot-full when he 
came off the topsail yard, on a stormy night ; — I fear 
Jack might have gone to ruin on the old road.^ 

But this is not doubling Cape Horn. Eight hours of the 
night, our watch was on deck, and during the whole of that 
time we kept a bright look-out: one man on each bow, 

^The proportions of the ingredients of the tea that was made for us 
(and ours, as I have before stated, was a favorable specimen of American 
merchantmen) were, a pint of tea, and a pint and a half of molasses, to 
about three gallons of water. These are all boiled down together in the 
" coppers," and before serving it out, the mess is stirred up with a stick, so 
as to give each man his fair share of sweetening and tea-leaves. The tea 
for the cabin is, of course, made in the usual way, in a tea-pot, and drank 
with sugar. 

* I do not wish these remarks, so far as they relate to the saving of ex- 
pense in the outfit, to be applied to the owners of our ship, for she was 
supplied with an abundance of stores, of the best kind that are given to 
seamen ; though the dispensing of them is necessarily left to the captain. 
Indeed, so high was the reputation of " the employ " among men and 
officers, for the character and outfit of their vessels, and for their liberality 
in conducting their voyages, that when it was known that they had a ship 
fitting out for a long voyage, and that hands were to be shipped at a cer- 
tain time, — a half hour before the time, as one of the crew told me, num- 
bers of sailors were steering down the wharf, hopping over the barrels, like 
flocks of sheep. 



334 TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 

another in the bunt of the fore yard, the third mate on the 
scuttle, one on each quarter, and a man always standing by 
the wheel. The chief mate was everywhere, and com- 
manded the ship when the captain was below. When a 
large piece of ice was seen in our way, or drifting near us, 
the word was passed along, and the ship's head turned one 
way and another; and sometimes the yards squared or 
braced up. There was little else to do than to look out; 
and we had the sharpest eyes in the ship on the forecastle. 
The only variety was the monotonous voice of the look-out 
forward — "Another island !" — "Ice ahead !" — "Ice on 
the lee bow !" — "Hard up the helm !" — "Keep her off a 
little!" — "Stead-y!" 

In the mean time, the wet and cold had brought my face 
into such a state that I could neither eat nor sleep; and 
though I stood it out all night, yet, when it became light, 
I was in such a state, that all hands told me I must go below, 
and lie-by for a day or two, or I should be laid up for a long 
time, and perhaps have the lock-jaw. When the watch 
was changed I went into the steerage, and took off my hat 
and comforter, and showed my face to the mate, who told 
me to go below at once, and stay in my berth until the 
swelling went down, and gave the cook orders to make a 
poultice for me, and said he would speak to the captain. 

I went below and turned-in, covering myself over with 
blankets and jackets, and lay in my berth nearly twenty- 
four hours, half asleep and half awake, stupid, from the dull 
pain. I heard the watch called, and the men going up and 
down, and sometimes a noise on deck, and a cry of "ice," 
but I gave little attention to anything. At the end of 
twenty-four hours the pain went down, and I had a long 
sleep, which brought me back to my proper state ; yet my 
face was so swollen and tender, that I was obliged to keep 
to my berth for two or three days longer. During the two 
days I had been below, the weather was much the same that 
it had been, head winds, and snow and rain ; or, if the wind 
came fair, too foggy, and the ice too thick, to run. At the 



TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 335 

end of the third day the ice was very thick ; a complete fog- 
bank covered the ship. It blew a tremendous gale from 
the eastward, with sleet and snow, and there was every 
promise of a dangerous and fatiguing night. At dark, the 
captain called all hands aft, and told them that not a man 
was to leave the deck that night ; that the ship was in the 
greatest danger ; any cake of ice might knock a hole in her, 
or she might run on an island and go to pieces. No one 
could tell whether she would be a ship the next morning. 
The look-outs were then set, and every man was put in his 
station. When I heard what was the state of things, I 
began to put on my clothes to stand it out with the rest of 
them, when the mate came below, and looking at my face, 
ordered me back to my berth, saying that if we went down, 
we should all go down together, but if I went on deck I 
might lay myself up for life. This was the first word I 
had heard from aft ; for the captain had done nothing, nor 
inquired how I was, since I went below. 

In obedience to the mate's orders, I went back to my 
berth ; but a more miserable night I never wish to spend. 
I never felt the curse of sickness so keenly in my life. If 
I could have only been on deck with the rest, where some- 
thing was to be done, and seen, and heard; where there 
were fellow-beings for companions in duty and danger — 
but to be cooped up alone in a black hole, in equal danger, 
but without the power to do, was the hardest trial. Several 
times, in the course of the night, I got up, determined to go 
on deck ; but the silence which showed that there was noth- 
ing doing, and the knowledge that I might make myself 
seriously ill, for nothing, kept me back. It was not easy to 
sleep, lying, as I did, with my head directly against the 
bows, which might be dashed in by an island of ice, brought 
down by the very next sea that struck her. This was the 
only time I had been ill since I left Boston, and it was the 
worst time it could have happened. I felt almost willing 
to bear the plagues of Egypt for the rest of the voyage, 
if I could but be well and strong for that one night. Yet 



336 TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 

it was a dreadful night for those on deck. A watch of eigh- 
teen hours, with wet, and cold, and constant anxiety, nearly 
wore them out ; and when they came below at nine o'clock 
for breakfast, they almost dropped asleep on their chests, 
and some of them were so stiff that they could with difficulty 
sit down. Not a drop of anything had been given them 
during the whole time (though the captain, as on the night 
that I was on deck, had his coffee every four hours), except 
that the mate stole a pot-full of coffee for two men to drink 
behind the galley, while he kept a look-out for the captain. 
Every man had his station, and was not allowed to leave it ; 
and nothing happened to break the monotony of the night, 
except once setting the miain topsails to run clear of a 
large island to leeward, which they were drifting fast upon. 
Some of the boys got so sleepy and stupefied, that they 
actually fell asleep at their posts ; and the young third 
mate, whose station was the exposed one of standing on 
the fore scuttle, was so stiff, when he was relieved, that 
he could not bend his knees to get down. By a constant 
look-out, and a quick shifting of the helm, as the islands 
and pieces came in sight, the ship went clear of everything 
but a few small pieces, though daylight showed the ocean 
covered for miles. At daybreak it fell a dead calm, and 
with the sun, the fog cleared a little, and a breeze sprung 
up from the westward, which soon grew into a gale. We 
had now a fair wind, daylight, and comparatively clear 
weather; yet, to the surprise of every one, the ship con- 
tinued hove-to. Why does not he run? What is the 
captain about? was asked by every one; and from ques- 
tions, it soon grew into complaints and murmurings. When 
the daylight was so short, it was too bad to lose it, and a 
fair wind, too, which every one had been praying for. As 
hour followed hour, and the captain showed no sign of mak- 
ing sail, the crew became impatient, and there was a good 
deal of talking and consultation together, on the forecastle. 
They had been beaten out with the exposure and hard- 
ship, and impatient to get out of it, and this unaccountable 



TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 337 

delay was mor.e than they could bear in quietness, in their 
excited and restless state. Some said that the captain 
was frightened, — completely cowed, by the dangers and 
difficulties that surrounded us, and was afraid to make sail ; 
while others said that in his anxiety and suspense he had 
made a free use of brandy and opium, and was unfit for 
his duty. The carpenter, who was an intelligent man, 
and a thorough seaman, and had great influence with the 
crew, came down into the forecastle, and tried to induce 
the crew to go aft and ask the captain why he did not run, 
or request him, in the name of all hands, to make sail. 
This appeared to be a very reasonable request, and the 
crew agreed that if he did not make sail before noon, they 
would go aft. Noon came, and no sail was made. A 
consultation was held again, and it was proposed to take 
the ship from the captain and give the command of her to 
the mate, who had been heard to say that, if he could have 
his way, the ship would have been half the distance to the 
Cape before night, — ice or no ice. And so irritated and 
impatient had the crew become, that even this proposition, 
which was open mutiny, punishable with state prison, was 
entertained, and the carpenter went to his berth, leaving 
it tacitly understood that something serious would be done, 
if things remained as they were many hours longer. When 
the carpenter left, we talked it all over, and I gave my 
advice strongly against it. Another of the men, too, who 
had known something of the kind attempted in another 
ship by a crew who were dissatisfied with their captain, 
and which was followed with serious consequences, was 

opposed to it. S , who soon came down, joined us, 

and we determined to have nothing to do with it. By 
these means, they were soon induced to give it up, for the 
present, though they said they would not lie where they 
were much longer without knowing the reason. 

The affair remained in this state until four o'clock, when 
an order came forward for all hands to come aft upon the 
quarter-deck. In about ten minutes they came forward 



338 TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 

again, and the whole affair had been blown. The car- 
penter, very prematurely, and without any authority from 
the crew, had sounded the mate as to whether he would 
take command of the ship, and intimated an intention to 
displace the captain ; and the mate, as in duty bound, 
had told the whole to the captain, who immediately sent 
for all hands aft. Instead of violent measures, or, at least, 
an outbreak of quarter-deck bravado, threats, and abuse, 
which they had every reason to expect, a sense of common 
danger and common suffering seemed to have tamed his 
spirit, and begotten something like a humane fellow-feel- 
ing ; for he received the crew in a manner quiet, and even 
almost kind. He told them what he had heard, and said 
that he did not believe that they would try to do any such 
thing as was intimated; that they had always been good 
men, — obedient, and knew their duty, and he had no fault 
to find with them ; and asked them what they had to com- 
plain of — said that no one could say that he was slow to 
carry sail (which was true enough) ; and that, as soon as 
he thought it was safe and proper, he should make sail. 
He added a few words about their duty in their present 
situation, and sent them forward, saying that he should 
take no further notice of the matter ; but, at the same time, 
told the carpenter to recollect whose power he was in, 
and that if he heard another word from him he would have 
cause to remember him to the day of his death. 

This language of the captain had a very good effect upon 
the crew, and they returned quietly to their duty. 

For two days more the wind blew from the southward 
and eastward; or in the short intervals when it was fair, 
the ice was too thick to run ; yet the weather was not so 
dreadfully bad, and the crew had watch and watch. I 
still remained in my berth, fast recovering, yet still not well 
enough to go safely on deck. And I should have been 
perfectly useless ; for, from having eaten nothing for nearly 
a week, except a little rice which I forced into my mouth 
the last day or two, I was as weak as an infant. To be 



TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 339 

sick in a forecastle is miserable indeed. It is the worst 
part of a dog's life; especially in bad weather. The fore- 
castle, shut up tight to keep out the water and cold air ; — 
the watch either on deck, or asleep in their berths ; — no 
one to speak to ; — the pale light of the single lamp, swing- 
ing to and fro from, the beam, so dim that one can scarcely 
see, much less read by it ; — the water dropping from the 
beams and carlines, and running down the sides; and 
the forecastle so wet, and dark, and cheerless, and so 
lumbered up with chests and wet clothes, that sitting up 
is worse than lying in the berth ! These are some of the 
evils. Fortunately, I needed no help from any one, and 
no medicine ; and if I had needed help, I don't know where 
I should have found it. Sailors are willing enough, but it 
is true, as is often said — No one ships for nurse on board 
a vessel. Our merchant ships are always under-manned, 
and if one man is lost by sickness, they cannot spare another 
to take care of him. A sailor is always presumed to be well, 
and if he's sick, he's a poor dog. One has to stand his 
wheel, and another his look-out, and the sooner he gets 
on deck again, the better. 

Accordingly, as soon as I could possibly go back to my 
duty, I put on my thick clothes and boots and south-wester, 
and made my appearance on deck. Though I had been 
but a few days below, yet everything looked strangely 
enough. The ship was cased in ice, — decks, sides, masts, 
yards, and rigging. Two close-reefed topsails were all the 
sails she had on, and every sail and rope was frozen so 
stiff in its place, that it seemed as though it would be im- 
possible to start anything. Reduced, too, to her top-masts, 
she had altogether a most forlorn and crippled appearance. 
The sun had come up brightly; the snow was swept off 
the decks, and ashes thrown upon them, so that we could 
walk, for they had been as slippery as glass. It was, of 
course, too cold to carry on any ship's work, and we had 
only to walk the deck and keep ourselves warm. The wind 
was still ahead, and the whole ocean, to the eastward, 



340 TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 

covered with islands and field-ice. At four bells the order 
was given to square^way the yards ; and the man who came 
from the helm said that the captain had kept her off to 
N. N. E. What could this mean ? Some said that he 
was going to put into Valparaiso, and winter, and others 
that he was going to run out of the ice and cross the Pacific, 
and go home round the Cape of Good Hope. Soon, how- 
ever, it leaked out, and we found that we were running for 
the straits of Magellan. The news soon spread through 
the ship, and all tongues were at work, talking about it. 
No one on board had been through the straits, but I had 
in my chest an account of the passage of the ship A. J. 
Donelson, of New York, through those straits, a few years be- 
fore. The account was given by the captain, and the repre- 
sentation was as favorable as possible. It was soon read 
by every one on board, and various opinions pronounced. 
The determination of our captain had at least this good 
effect ; it gave every one something to think and talk about, 
made a break in our life, and diverted our minds from the 
monotonous dreariness of the prospect before us. Having 
made a fair wind of it, we were going off at a good rate, 
and leaving the thickest of the ice behind us. This, at least, 
was something. 

Having been long enough below to get my hands well 
warmed and softened, the first handling of the ropes was 
rather tough ; but a few days hardened them, and as soon 
as I got my mouth open wide enough to take in a piece of 
salt beef and hard bread, I was all right again. 

Sunday, July loth. Lat. 54° 10', long. 79° 07'. This was 
our position at noon. The sun was out bright; the ice 
was all left behind, and things had quite a cheering appear- 
ance. We brought our wet pea-jackets and trowsers on 
deck, and hung them up in the rigging, that the breeze 
and the few hours of sun might dry them a little ; and, 
by the permission of the cook, the galley was nearly filled 
with stockings and mittens, hung round to be dried. Boots, 
too, were brought up ; and having got a little tar and 



TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 341 

slush from below, we gave them a thick coat. After dinner, 
all hands were turned-to, to get the anchors over the bows, 
bend on the chains, etc. The fish-tackle was got up, fish- 
davit rigged out, and after two or three hours of hard and 
cold work, both the anchors were ready for instant use, 
a couple of kedges got up, a hawser coiled away upon the 
fore-hatch, and the deep-sea-lead-line overhauled and got 
ready. Our spirits returned with having something to do ; 
and when the tackle was manned to bowse the anchor 
home, notwithstanding the desolation of the scene, we struck 
up "Cheerily ho !" in full chorus. This pleased the mate, 
who rubbed his hands and cried out — "That's right, my 
boys; never say die! That sounds like the old crew!" 
and the captain came up, on hearing the song, and said to 
the passenger, within hearing of the man at the wheel, — 
"That sounds like a lively crew. They'll have their song 
so long as there're enough left for a chorus ! " 

This preparation of the cable and anchors was for the 
passage of the straits; for, being very crooked, and with 
a variety of currents, it is necessary to come frequently 
to anchor. This was not, by any means, a pleasant pros- 
pect, for, of all the work that a sailor is called upon to do in 
cold weather, there is none so bad as working the ground- 
tackle. The heavy chain cables to be hauled and pulled 
about decks with bare hands ; wet hawsers, slip-ropes, and 
buoy-ropes to be hauled aboard, dripping in water, which 
is running up your sleeves, and freezing; clearing hawse 
under the bows; getting under weigh and coming-to, at 
all hours of the night and day, and a constant look-out for 
rocks and sands and turns of tides ; — these are some of the 
disagreeables of such a navigation to a common sailor. Fair 
or foul, he wants to have nothing to do with the ground- 
tackle between port and port. One of our hands, too, had 
unluckily fallen upon a half of an old- newspaper which con- 
tained an account of the passage, through the straits, of a 
Boston brig, called, I think, the Peruvian, in which she lost 
every cable and anchor she had, got aground twice, and 



342 TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 

arrived at Valparaiso in distress. This was set off against 
the account of the A . J. Donelson, and led us to look forward 
with less confidence to the passage, especially as no one on 
board had ever been through, and the captain had no very- 
perfect charts. However, we were spared any further ex- 
perience on the point ; for the next day, when we must have 
been near the Cape of Pillars, which is the south-west point 
of the mouth of the straits, a gale set in from the eastward, 
with a heavy fog, so that we could not see half of the ship's 
length ahead. This, of course, put an end to the project, 
for the present; for a thick fog and a gale blowing dead 
ahead are not the most favorable circumstances for the 
passage of difficult and dangerous straits. This weather, 
too, seemed likely to last for some time, and we could not 
think of beating about the mouth of the straits for a week 
or two, waiting for a favorable opportunity ; so we braced 
up on the larboard tack, put the ship's head due south, and 
stuck her off for Cape Horn again. 



CHAPTER XXXII 

In our first attempt to double the Cape, when we came 
up to the latitude of it, we were nearly seventeen hundred 
miles to the westward, but, in running for the straits of 
Magellan, we stood so far to the eastward, that we made our 
second attempt at a distance of not more than four or 
five hundred miles ; and we had great hopes, by this means, 
to run clear of the ice; thinking that the easterly gales, 
which had prevailed for a long time, would have driven it 
to the westward. With the wind about two points free, 
the yards braced in a little, and two close-reefed topsails and 
a reefed fore-sail on the ship, we made great way toward 
the southward; and, almost every watch, when we came 
on deck, the air seemed to grow colder, and the sea to run 
higher. Still, we saw no ice, and had great hopes of going 
clear of it altogether, when, one afternoon, about three 
o'clock, while we were taking a siesta during our watch 
below "All hands !" was called in a loud and fearful voice. 
"Tumble up here, men! — tumble up! — don't stop for 
your clothes — before we're upon it !" We sprang out of 
our berths and hurried upon deck. The loud, sharp voice 
of the captain was heard giving orders, as though for life 
or death, and we ran aft to the braces, not waiting to look 
ahead, for not a moment was to be lost. The helm was hard 
up, the after yards shaking, and the ship in the act of wear- 
ing. Slowly, with the stiff ropes and iced rigging, we swung 
the yards round, everything coming hard and with a creak- 
ing and rending sound, like pulling up a plank which has 
been frozen into the ice. The ship wore round fairly, the 
yards were steadied, and we stood off on the other tack, 
leaving behind us, directly under our larboard quarter, a 
large ice island, peering our of the mist, and reaching high 

343 



344 TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 

above our tops, while astern, and on either side of the island, 
large tracts of field-ice were dimly seen, heaving and rolling 
in the sea. We were now safe, and standing to the north- 
ward ; but, in a few minutes more, had it not been for the 
sharp look-out of the watch, we should have been fairly upon 
the ice, and left our ship's old bones adrift in the Southern 
ocean. After standing to the northward a few hours, we 
wore ship, and, the wind having hauled, we stood to the 
southward and eastward. All night long, a bright look-out 
was kept from every part of the deck; and whenever ice 
was seen on the one bow or the other, the helm was shifted 
and the yards braced, and by quick working of the ship 
she was kept clear. The accustomed cry of *'Ice ahead !" 
— "Ice on the lee bow!" — "Another island!" in the 
same tones, and with the same orders following them, 
seemed to bring us directly back to our old position of the 
week before. During our watch on deck, which was from 
twelve to four, the wind came out ahead, with a pelting 
storm of hail and sleet, and we lay hove-to, under a close- 
reefed main topsail, the whole watch. During the next 
watch it fell calm, with a drenching rain, until daybreak, 
when the wind came out to the westward, and the weather 
cleared up, and showed us the whole ocean, in the course 
which we should have steered, had it not been for the head 
wind and calm, completely blocked up with ice. Here 
then our progress was stopped, and we wore ship, and once 
more stood to the northward and eastward; not for the 
straits of Magellan, but to make another attempt to double 
the Cape, still farther to the eastward ; for the captain was 
determined to get round if perseverance could do it, and 
the third time, he said, never failed. 

With a fair wind we soon ran clear of the field-ice, and 
by noon had only the stray islands floating far and near 
upon the ocean. The sun was out bright, the sea of a deep 
blue, fringed with the white foam of the waves which ran 
high before a strong south-wester; our solitary ship tore 
on through the water as though glad to be out of her con- 



TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 345 

finement ; and the ice islands lay scattered upon the ocean 
here and there, of various sizes and shapes, reflecting the 
bright rays of the sun, and drifting slowly northward before 
the gale. It was a contrast to much that we had lately 
seen, and a spectacle not only of beauty, but of life ; for 
it required but Httle fancy to imagine these islands to be 
animate masses which had broken loose from the "thrilling 
regions of thick-ribbed ice," and were working their way, 
by wind and current, some alone, and some in fleets, to 
milder climes. No pencil has ever yet given anything 
like the true effect of an iceberg. In a picture, they are 
huge, uncouth masses, stuck in the sea, while their chief 
beauty and grandeur, — their slow, stately motion ; the 
whirling of the snow about their summits, and the fearful 
groaning and cracking of their parts, — the picture cannot 
give. This is the large iceberg; while the small and dis- 
tant islands, floating on the smooth sea, in the light of a 
clear day, look like little floating fairy isles of sapphire. 

From a north-east course we gradually hauled to the 
eastward, and after sailing about two hundred miles, which 
brought us as near to the western coast of Terra del Fuego 
as was safe, and having lost sight of the ice altogether, — 
for the third time we put the ship's head to the southward, 
to try the passage of the Cape. The weather continued 
clear and cold, with a strong gale from the westward, and 
we were fast getting up with the latitude of the Cape, with 
a prospect of soon being round. One fine afternoon, a 
man who had gone into the fore-top to shift the rolling 
tackles, sung out, at the top of his voice, and with evident 
glee, — "Sail ho!" Neither land nor sail had we seen 
since leaving San Diego; and any one who has traversed 
the length of a whole ocean alone, can imagine what an 
excitement such an announcement produced on board. 
"Sail ho!" shouted the cook, jumping out of his galley; 
" Sail ho ! " shouted a man, throwing back the slide of the 
scuttle, to the watch below, who were soon out of their 
berths and on deck; and "Sail ho !" shouted the captain 



346 TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 

down the companion-way to the passenger in the cabin. 
Beside the pleasure of seeing a ship and human beings in 
so desolate a place, it was important for us to speak a 
vessel, to learn whether there was ice to the eastward, and 
to ascertain the longitude; for we had no chronometer 
and had been drifting about so long that we had nearly- 
lost our reckoning, and opportunities for lunar observations 
are not frequent or sure in such a place as Cape Horn. 
For these various reasons, the excitement in our little 
community was running high, and conjectures were made, 
and everything thought of for which the captain would 
hail, when the man aloft sung out — "Another sail, large 
on the weather bow !" This was a little odd, but so much 
the better, and did not shake our faith in their being sails. 
At length the man in the top hailed, and said he believed 
it was land, after all. "Land in your eye !" said the mate, 
who was looking through the telescope; "they are ice 
islands, if I can see a hole through a ladder;" and a few 
moments showed the mate to be right ; and all our expecta- 
tions fled ; and instead of what we most wished to see, we 
had what we most dreaded, and what we hoped we had 
seen the last of. We soon, however, left these astern, 
having passed within about two miles of them; and at 
sun-down the horizon was clear in all directions. 

Having a fine wind, we were soon up with and passed 
the latitude of the Cape, and having stood far enough to 
the southward to give it a wide berth, we began to stand 
to the eastward, with a good prospect of being round and 
steering to the northward on the other side, in a very few 
days. But ill luck seemed to have lighted upon us. Not 
four hours had we been standing on in this course, before 
it fell dead calm; and in half an hour it clouded up; a 
few straggling blasts, with spits of snow and sleet, came from 
the eastward ; and in an hour more, we lay hove-to under a 
close-reefed main topsail, drifting bodily off to leeward 
before the fiercest storm that we had yet felt, blowing dead 
ahead, from the eastward. It seemed as though the genius 



TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 347 

of the place had been roused at fmding that we had nearly- 
slipped through his fingers, and had come down upon us 
with tenfold fury. The sailors said that every blast, as it 
shook the shrouds, and whistled through the rigging, said 
to the old ship, "No, you don't !" — "No, you don't !" 

For eight days we lay drifting about in this manner. 
Sometimes, — generally towards noon, — it fell calm ; 
once or twice a round copper ball showed itself for a few 
moments in the place where the sun ought to have been; 
and a puff or two came from the westward, giving some hope 
that a fair wind had come at last. During the first two 
days, we made sail for these puffs, shaking the reefs out of 
the topsails and boarding the tacks of the courses; but 
finding that it only made work for us when the gale set in 
again, it was soon given up, and we lay- to under our close- 
reefs. We had less snow and hail than when we were 
farther to the westward, but we had an abundance of what 
is worse to a sailor in cold weather — drenching rain. 
Snow is blinding, and very bad when coming upon a coast, 
but, for genuine discomfort, give me rain with freezing 
weather. A snow-storm is exciting, and it does not wet 
through the clothes (which is important to a sailor) ; but 
a constant rain there is no escaping from. It wets to the 
skin, and makes all protection vain. We had long ago 
run through all our dry clothes, and as sailors have no other 
way of drying them than by the sun, we had nothing to 
do but to put on those which were the least wet. At the 
end of each watch, when we came below, we took off our 
clothes and wrung them out; two taking hold of a pair 
of trowsers, — one at each end, — and jackets in the same 
way. : Stockings, mittens, and all, were wrung out also, 
and then hung up to drain and chafe dry against the bulk- 
heads. Then, feeling of all our clothes, we picked out those 
which were the least wet, and put them on, so as to be 
ready for a call, and turned-in, covered ourselves up with 
blankets, and slept until three knocks on the scuttle and 
the dismal sound of "All starbowlines ahoy ! Eight bells, 



348 TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 

there below ! Do you hear the news?" drawled out from 
on deck, and the sulky answer of_ "Aye, aye !" from below, 
sent us up again. 

On deck, all was as dark as a pocket, and either a dead 
calm, with the rain pouring steadily down, or, more gen- 
erally, a violent gale dead ahead, with rain pelting horizon- 
tally, and occasional variations of hail and sleet ; — decks 
afloat with water swashing from side to side, and constantly 
wet feet; for boots could not be wrung out Hke drawers, 
and no composition could stand the constant soaking. In 
fact, wet and cold feet are inevitable in such weather, and 
are not the least of those little items which go to make up 
the grand total of the discomforts of a winter passage round 
the Cape. Few words were spoken between the watches 
as they shifted, the wheel was relieved, the mate took his 
place on the quarter-deck, the look-outs in the bows ; and 
each man had his narrow space to walk fore and aft in, 
or, rather, to swing himself forward and back in, from 
one belaying pin to another, — for the decks were too 
slippery with ice and water to allow of much walking. 
To make a walk, which is absolutely necessary to pass away 
the time, one of us hit upon the expedient of sanding the 
deck ; and afterwards, whenever the rain was not so violent 
as to wash it off, the weather-side of the quarter-deck, and 
a part of the waist and forecastle were sprinkled with the 
sand which we had on board for holystoning; and thus 
we made a good promenade, where we walked fore and aft, 
two and two, hour after hour, in our long, dull, and com- 
fortless watches. The bells seemed to be an hour or two 
apart, instead of half an hour, and an age to elapse before 
the welcome sound of eight bells. The sole object was to 
make the time pass on. Any change was sought for, which 
would break the monotony of the time ; and even the two 
hours' trick at the wheel, which came round to each of us 
in turn, once in every other watch, was looked upon as a 
relief. Even the never-failing resource of long yarns, 
which eke out many a watch, seemed to have failed us now ; 



TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 349 

for we had been so long together that we had heard each 
other's stories told over and over again, till we had them by 
heart; each one knew the whole history of each of the 
others, and we were fairly and literally talked out. Sing- 
ing and joking, we were in no humor for, and, in fact, any 
sound of mirth or laughter would have struck strangely 
upon our ears, and would not have been tolerated, any more 
than whistling, or a wind instrument. The last resort, 
that of speculating upon the future, seemed now to fail us, 
for our discouraging situation, and the danger we were 
really in (as we expected every day to find ourselves drifted 
back among the ice), "clapped a stopper" upon all that. 
From saying — ''when we get home" — we began insensibly 
to alter it to — "if we get home" — and at last the subject 
was dropped by a tacit consent. 

In this state of things, a new light was struck out, and 
a new field opened, by a change in the watch. One of our 
watch was laid up for two or three days by a bad hand 
(for in cold weather the least cut or bruise ripens into a sore), 
and his place was supplied by the carpenter. This was 
a windfall, and there was quite a contest, who should have 
the carpenter to walk with him. As " Chips" was a man of 
some little education, and he and I had had a good deal 
of intercourse with each other, he fell in with me in my 
walk. He was a Fin, but spoke English very well, and gave 
me long accounts of his country ; — the customs, the trade, 
the towns, what little he knew of the government (I found 
he was no friend of Russia), his voyages, his first arrival 
in America, his marriage and courtship ; — he had married 
a countrywoman of his, a dress-maker, whom he met with 
in Boston. I had very little to tell him of my quiet, sed- 
entary life at home ; and in spite of our best efforts, which 
had protracted these yarns through five or six watches, 
we fairly talked one another out, and I turned him over 
to another man in the watch, and put myself upon my own 
resources, 

I commenced a deliberate system of time-killing, which 



350 TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 

united some profit with a cheering up of the heavy hours. 
As soon as I came on deck, and took my place and regular 
walk, I began with repeating over to myself a string of 
matters which I had in my memory, in regular order. First, 
the multiplication table and the tables of weights and 
measures ; then the states of the Union, with their capitals ; 
the counties of England, with their shire towns ; the kings 
of England in their order ; and a large part of the peerage, 
which I committed from an almanac that we had on board ; 
and then the Kanaka numerals. This carried me through 
my facts, and being repeated deliberately, with long in- 
tervals, often eked out the two first bells. Then came the 
ten commandments ; the thirty-ninth chapter of Job, and 
a few other passages from Scripture. The next in the order, 
that I never varied from, came Cowper's Castaway, which 
was a great favorite with me ; the solemn measure and 
gloomy character of which, as well as the incident that 
it was founded upon, made it well suited to a lonely watch 
at sea. Then his lines to Mary, his address to the jack- 
daw, and a short extract from Table Talk (I abounded 
in Cowper, for I happened to have a volume of his poems 
in my chest) ; "Ille et nefasto" from Horace, and Goethe's 
Erl King. After I had got through these, I allowed myself 
a more general range among everything that I could re- 
member, both in prose and verse. In this way, with an 
occasional break by relieving the wheel, heaving the log, 
and going to the scuttle-butt for a drink of water, the 
longest watch was passed away ; and I was so regular in 
my silent recitations, that if there was no interruption by 
ship's duty, I could tell very nearly the number of bells by 
my progress. 

Our watches below were no more varied than the watch 
on deck. All washing, sewing, and reading was given up ; 
and we did nothing but eat, sleep, and stand our watch, 
leading what might be called a Cape Horn life. The fore- 
castle was too uncomfortable to sit up in ; and whenever 
we were below, we were in our berths. To prevent the rain, 



TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 351 

and the sea-water which broke over the bows, from washing 
down, we were obliged to keep the scuttle closed, so that 
the forecastle was nearly air-tight. In this little, wet, 
leaky hole, we were all quartered, in an atmosphere so bad 
that our lamp, which swung in the middle from the beams, 
sometimes actually burned blue, with a large circle of foul 
air about it. Still, I was never in better health than after 
three weeks of this life. I gained a great deal of flesh, 
and we all ate like horses. At every watch, when we came 
below, before turning-in, the bread barge and beef kid were 
overhauled. Each man drank his quart of hot tea night 
and morning; and glad enough we were to get it, for no 
nectar and ambrosia were sweeter to the lazy immortals, 
than was a pot of hot tea, a hard biscuit, and a slice of cold 
salt beef, to us after a watch on deck. To be sure, we were 
mere animals, and had this life lasted a year instead of a 
month, we should have been little better than tne ropes 
in the ship. Not a razor, nor a brush, nor a drop of water, 
except the rain and the spray, had come near us all the time ; 
for we were on an allowance of fresh water; and who 
would strip and wash himself in salt water on deck, in the 
snow and ice, with the thermometer at zero ? 

After about eight days of constant easterly gales, the 
wind hauled occasionally a little to the southward, and 
blew hard, which, as we were well to the southward, allowed 
us to brace in a little and stand on, under all the sail we 
could carry. These turns lasted but a short while, and 
sooner or later it set in again from the old quarter ; yet at 
each time we made something, and were gradually edging 
along to the eastward. One night, after one of these shifts 
of the wind, and when all hands had been up a great part 
of the time, our watch was left on deck, with the main-sail 
hanging in the buntlines, ready to be set if necessary. It 
came on to blow worse and worse, with hail and snow beat- 
ing like so many furies upon the ship, it being as dark and 
thick as night could make it. The main-sail was blowing 
and slatting with a noise like thunder, when the captain 



352 TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 

came on deck, and ordered it to be furled. The mate was 
about to call all hands, when the captain stopped him, and 
said that the men would be beaten out if they were called 
up so often ; that as our watch must stay on deck, it might 
as well be doing that as anything else. Accordingly, we 
went upon the yard; and never shall I forget that piece 
of work. Our watch had been so reduced by sickness, and 
by some having been left in California, that, with one man 
at the wheel, we had only the third mate and three beside 
myself to go aloft ; so that, at most, we could only attempt 
to furl one yard-arm at a time. We manned the weather 
yard-arm, and set to work to make a furl of it. Our lower 
masts being short, and our yards very square, the sail had 
a head of nearly fifty feet, and a short leach, made still 
shorter by the deep reef which was in it, which brought 
the clew away out on the quarters of the yard, and made 
a bunt nearly as square as the mizen royal-yard. Beside 
this difficulty, the yard over which we lay was cased with 
ice, the gaskets and rope of the foot and leach of the sail 
as stiff and hard as a piece of suction-hose, and the sail 
itself about as pliable as though it had been made of sheets 
of sheathing copper. It blew a perfect hurricane, with 
alternate blasts of snow, hail, and rain. We had to fist 
the sail with bare hands. No one could trust himself to 
mittens, for if he slipped, he was a gone man. All the boats 
were hoisted in on deck, and there was nothing to be lowered 
for him. We had need of every finger God had given us. 
Several times we got the sail upon the yard, but it blew 
away again before we could secure it. It required men to 
lie over the yard to pass each turn of the gaskets, and when 
they were passed, it was almost impossible to knot them so 
that they would hold. Frequently we were obliged to leave 
off altogether and take to beating our hands upon the sail, 
to keep them from freezing. After some time, — which 
seemed forever, — we got the weather side stowed after 
a fashion, and went over to leeward for another trial. This 
was still worse, for the body of the sail had been blown over 



TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 353 

to leeward, and as the yard was a-cock-bill by the lying over 
of the vessel, we had to light it all up to windward. When 
the yard-arms were furled, the bunt was all adrift again, 
which made more work for us. We got all secure at last, 
but we had been nearly an hour and a half upon the yard, 
and it seemed an age. It had just struck five bells when 
we went up, and eight were struck soon after we came down. 
This may seem slow work; but considering the state of 
everything, and that we had only five men to a sail with 
just half as many square yards of canvas in it as the main- 
sail of the Independence, sixty-gun ship, which musters 
seven hundred men at her quarters, it is not wonderful 
that we were no quicker about it. We were glad enough 
to get on deck, and still more, to go below. The oldest 
sailor in the watch said, as he went down, — "I shall never 
forget that main yard ; — it beats all my going a fishing. 
Fun is fun, but furling one yard-arm of a course, at a time, 
off Cape Horn, is no better than man-killing." 

During the greater part of the next two days, the wind 
was pretty steady from the southward. We had evidently 
made great progress, and had good hope of being soon up 
with the Cape, if we were not there already. We could 
put but little confidence in our reckoning, as there had been 
no opportunities for an observation, and we had drifted 
too much to allow of our dead reckoning being anywhere 
near the mark. If it would clear off enough to give a chance 
for an observation, or if we could make land, we should know 
where we were ; and upon these, and the chances of falling 
in with a sail from the eastward, we depended almost 
entirely. 

Friday, July 22d. This day we had a steady gale from 
the southward, and stood on under close sail, with the yards 
eased a little by the weather braces, the clouds lifting a 
little, and showing signs of breaking away. In the after- 
noon, I was below with Mr. H , the third mate, and two 

others, filling the bread locker in the steerage from the casks, 
when a bright gleam of sunshine broke out and shone down 



354 TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 

the companion-way and through the sky-Hght, Hghting 
up everything below, and sending a warm glow through 
the heart of every one. It was a sight we had not seen 
for weeks, — an omen, a god-send. Even the roughest 
and hardest face acknowledged its influence. Just at that 
moment we heard a loud shout from all parts of the deck, 
and the mate called out down the companion-way to the 
captain, who was sitting in the cabin. What he said, we 
could not distinguish, but the captain kicked over his 
chair, and was on deck at one jump. We could not tell 
what it was ; and, anxious as we were to know, the discipline 
of the ship would not allow of our leaving our places. Yet, 
as we were not called, we knew there was no danger. We 
hurried to get through with our job, when, seeing the stew- 
ard's black face peering out of the pantry, Mr. H 

hailed him, to know what was the matter. "Lan'o, to be 
sure, sir ! No you hear 'em sing out, 'Lan' o ? ' De cap'em 
say 'im Cape Horn !" 

This gave us a new start, and we were soon through our 
work, and on deck ; and there lay the land, fair upon the 
larboard beam, and slowly edging away upon the quarter. 
All hands were busy looking at it, — the captain and mates 
from the quarter-deck, the cook from his galley, and the 
sailors from the forecastle ; and even Mr. N., the passenger, 
who had kept in his shell for nearly a month, and hardly 
been seen by anybody, and who we had almost forgotten 
was on board, came out like a butterfly, and was hopping 
round as bright as a bird. 

The land was the island of Staten Land, just to the east- 
ward of Cape Horn ; and a more desolate-looking spot I 
never wish to set eyes upon ; — bare, broken, and girt with 
rocks and ice, with here and there, between the rocks and 
broken hillocks, a little stunted vegetation of shrubs. It 
was a place well suited to stand at the junction of the two 
oceans, beyond the reach of human cultivation, and en- 
counter the blasts and snows of a perpetual winter. Yet, 
dismal as it was, it was a pleasant sight to us; not only 



TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 355 

as being the first land we had seen, but because it told us 
that we had passed the Cape, — were in the Atlantic, — 
and that, with twenty-four hours of this breeze, might bid 
defiance to the Southern ocean. It told us, too, our latitude 
and longitude better than any observation ; and the captain 
now knew where we were, as well as if we were o£f the end 
of Long wharf. 

In the general joy, Mr. N. said he should like to go ashore 
upon the island and examine a spot which probably no 
human being had ever set foot upon; but the captain 
intimated that he would see the island — specimens and 
all, — in — another place, before he would get out a boat 
or delay the ship one moment for him. 

We left the land gradually astern ; and at sun-down had 
the Atlantic ocean clear before us. 



CHAPTER XXXIII 

It is usual, in voyages round the Cape from the Pacific, 
to keep to the eastward of the Falkland Islands ; but as it 
had now set in a strong, steady, and clear south-wester, 
with every prospect of its lasting, and we had had enough 
of high latitudes, the captain determined to stand im- 
mediately to the northward, running inside the Falkland 
Islands. Accordingly, when the wheel was relieved at 
eight o'clock, the order was given to keep her due north, 
and all hands were turned up to square away the yards 
and make sail. In a moment, the news ran through the 
ship that the captain was keeping her off, with her nose 
straight for Boston, and Cape Horn over her taffrail. It 
was a moment of enthusiasm. Every one was on the alert, 
and even the two sick men turned out to lend a hand at 
the halyards. The wind was now due south-west, and 
blowing a gale to which a vessel close hauled could have 
shown no more than a single close-reefed sail; but as we 
were going before it, we could carry on. Accordingly, 
hands were sent aloft, and a reef shaken out of the topsails, 
and the reefed fore-sail set. When we came to mast-head 
the topsail yards, with all hands at the halyards, we struck 
up "Cheerily, men," with a chorus which might have been 
heard half way to Staten Land. Under her increased 
sail, the ship drove on through the water. Yet she could 
bear it well; and the captain sang out from the quarter- 
deck — ''Another reef out of that fore topsail, and give 
it to her ! " Two hands sprang aloft ; the frozen reef-points 
and earings were cast adrift, the halyards manned, and 
the sail gave out her increased canvas to the gale. All 
hands were kept on deck to watch the effect of the change. 
It was as much as she could well carry, and with a heavy 

3S6 



TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 357 

sea astern, it took two men at the wheel to steer her. She 
flung the foam from her bows; the spray breaking aft as 
far as the gangway. She was going at a prodigious rate. 
Still, everything held. Preventer braces were reeved 
and hauled taught; tackles got upon the backstays; and 
each thing done to keep all snug and strong. The captain 
walked the deck at a rapid stride, looked aloft at the sails, 
and then to windward; the mate stood in the gangway, 
rubbing his hands, and talking aloud to the ship — "Hur- 
rah, old bucket ! the Boston girls have got hold of the tow- 
rope!" and the like; and we were on the forecastle, look- 
ing to see how the spars stood it, and guessing the rate at 
which she was going, — when the captain called out — 
"Mr. Brown, get up the top-mast studding-sail! What 
she can't carry she may drag ! " The mate looked a mo- 
ment ; but he would let no one be before him in daring. He 
sprang forward, — "Hurrah, men! rig out the top-mast 
studding-sail boom ! Lay aloft, and I'll send the rigging 
up to you!" — We sprang aloft into the top; lowered a 
girt-line down, by which we hauled up the rigging; rove 
the tacks and halyards; ran out the boom and lashed it 
fast, and sent down the lower halyards, as a preventer. 
It was a clear starlight night, cold and blowing ; but every- 
body worked with a will. Some, indeed, looked as though 
they thought the "old man" was mad, but no one said a 
word. We had had a new top-mast studding-sail made with 
a reef in it, — a thing hardly ever heard of, and which the 
sailors had ridiculed a good deal, saying that when it was 
time to reef a studding-sail, it was time to take it in. But 
we found a use for it now; for, there being a reef in the 
topsail, the studding-sail could not be set without one in 
it also. To be sure, a studding-sail with reefed topsails 
was rather a new thing; yet there was some reason in it, 
for if we carried that away, we should lose only a sail and 
a boom; but a whole topsail might have carried away 
the mast and all. 
While we were aloft, the sail had been got out, bent to 



3S8 TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 

the yard, reefed, and ready for hoisting. Waiting for a 
good opportunity, the halyards were manned and the yard 
hoisted fairly up to the block ; but when the mate came to 
shake the catspaw out of the downhaul, and we began to 
boom-end the sail, it shook the ship to her centre. The 
boom buckled up and bent like a whip-stick, and we looked 
every moment to see something go ; but, being of the short, 
tough upland spruce, it bent like whalebone, and nothing 
could break it. The carpenter said it was the best stick 
he had ever seen. The strength of all hands soon brought 
the tack to the boom-end, and the sheet was trimmed down, 
and the preventer and the weather brace hauled taught to 
take off the strain. Every rope-yarn seemed stretched to 
the utmost, and every thread of canvas; and with this 
sail added to her, the ship sprang through the water like 
a thing possessed. The sail being nearly all forward, it 
lifted her out of the water, and she seemed actually to 
jump from sea to sea. From the time her keel was laid, 
she had never been so driven ; and had it been life or death 
with every one of us, she could not have borne another stitch 
of canvas. 

Finding that she would bear the sail, the hands were 
sent below, and our watch remained on deck. Two men 
at the wheel had as much as they could do to keep her 
within three points of her course, for she steered as wild as 
a young colt. The mate walked the deck, looking at the 
sails, and then over the side to see the foam fly by her, — 
slapping his hands upon his thighs and talking to the ship 
— "Hurrah, you jade, you've got the scent! — you know 
where you're going ! " And when she leaped over the seas, 
and almost out of the water, and trembled to her very keel, 
the spars and masts snapping and creaking, — "There she 
goes ! — There she goes, — handsomely ! — As long as 
she cracks she holds !" — while we stood with the rigging 
laid down fair for letting go, and ready to take in sail and 
clear away, if anything went. At four bells we hove the 
log, and she was going eleven knots fairly ; and had it not 



TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 359 

been for the sea from aft which sent the chip home, and 
threw her continually off her course, the log would have 
shown her to have been going much faster. I went to the 
wheel with a young fellow from the Kennebec, who was a 
good helmsman ; and for two hours we had our hands full. 
A few minutes showed us that our monkey-jackets must 
come off ; and cold as it was, we stood in our shirt-sleeves, 
in a perspiration; and were glad enough to have it eight 
bells, and the wheel relieved. We turned-in and slept as 
well as we could, though the sea made a constant roar 
under her bows, and washed over the forecastle like a small 
cataract. 

At four o'clock, we were called again. The same sail 
was still on the vessel, and the gale, if there was any change, 
had increased a little. No attempt was made to take the 
studding-sail in ; and, indeed, it was too late now. If we 
had started anything toward taking it in, either tack or 
halyards, it would have blown to pieces, and carried some- 
thing away with it. The only way now was to let every- 
thing stand, and if the gale went down, well and good ; if 
not, something must go — the weakest stick or rope first — 
and then we could get it in. For more than an hour she 
was driven on at such a rate that she seemed actually to 
crowd the sea into a heap before her ; and the water poured 
over the sprit-sail yard as it would over a dam. Toward 
daybreak the gale abated a little, and she was just beginning 
to go more easily along, relieved of the pressure, when Mr. 
Brown, determined to give her no respite, and depending 
upon the wind's subsiding as the sun rose, told us to get 
along the lower studding-sail. This was an immense sail, 
and held wind enough to last a Dutchman a week, — 
hove-to. It was soon ready, the boom topped up, pre- 
venter guys rove, and the idlers called up to man the hal- 
yards ; yet such was still the force of the gale, that we were 
nearly an hour setting the sail; carried away the outhaul 
in doing it, and came very near snapping off the swinging 
boom. No sooner was it set than ^e ship tore on again 



36o TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 

like one that was mad, and began to steer as wild as a hawk. 
The men at the wheel were puffing and blowing at their 
work, and the helm was going hard up and hard down, con- 
stantly. Add to this, the gale did not lessen as the day 
came on, but the sun rose in clouds. A sudden lurch threw 
the man from the weather wheel across the deck and against 
the side. The mate sprang to the wheel, and the man, 
regaining his feet, seized the spokes, and they hove the 
wheel up just in time to save her from broaching to ; though 
nearly half the studding-sail went under water ; and as she 
came to, the boom stood up at an angle of forty-five de- 
grees. She had evidently more on her than she could bear ; 
yet it was in vain to try to take it in — the clewline was not 
strong enough; and they were thinking of cutting away, 
when another wide yaw and a come-to, snapped the guys, 
and the swinging boom came in, with a crash, against the 
lower rigging. The outhaul block gave way, and the top- 
mast studding-sail boom bent in a manner which I never 
before supposed a stick could bend. I had my eye on it 
when the guys parted, and it made one spring and buckled 
up so as to form nearly a half circle, and sprang out again 
to its shape. The clewline gave way at the first pull ; the 
cleat to which the halyards were belayed was wrenched off, 
and the sail blew round the sprit-sail yard and head guys, 
which gave us a bad job to get it in. A half hour served to 
clear all away, and she was suffered to drive on with her 
top-mast studding-sail set, it being as much as she could 
stagger under. 

During all this day and the next night, we went on under 
the same sail, the gale blowing with undiminished force ; two 
men at the wheel all the time ; watch and watch, and noth- 
ing to do but to steer and look out for the ship, and be blown 
along; — until the noon of the next day — 

Sunday, July 2/\.th, when we were in latitude 50° 27' S., 
longitude 62° 13' W., having made four degrees of latitude 
in the last twenty-four hours. Being now to the northward 
of the Falkland Islands, the ship was kept off, north-east, 



TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 361 

for the equator; and with her head for the equator, and 
Cape Horn over her taffrail, she went gloriously on ; every 
heave of the sea leaving the Cape astern, and every hour 
bringing us nearer to home, and to warm weather. Many 
a time, when blocked up in the ice, with everything dismal 
and discouraging about us, had we said, — if we were only 
fairly round, and standing north on the other side, we should 
ask for no more : — and now we had it all, with a clear sea, 
and as much wind as a sailor could pray for. If the best 
part of a voyage is the last part, surely we had all now that 
we could wish. Every one was in the highest spirits, and 
the ship seemed as glad as any of us at getting out of her 
confinement. At each change of the watch, those coming 
on deck asked those going below — "How does she go 
along?" and got for answer, the rate, and the customary 
addition — "Aye! and the Boston girls have had hold of 
the tow-rope all the watch, and can't haul half the slack in !" 
Each day the sun rose higher in the horizon, and the nights 
grew shorter ; and at coming on deck each morning, there 
was a sensible change in the temperature. The ice, too, 
began to melt from off the rigging and spars, and, except 
a little which remained in the tops and round the hounds 
of the lower masts, was soon gone. As we left the gale 
behind us, the reefs were shaken out of the topsails, and sail 
made as fast as she could bear it ; and every time all hands 
were sent to the halyards, a song was called for, and we 
hoisted away with a will. 

Sail after sail was added, as we drew into fine weather; 
and in one week after leaving Cape Horn, the long top-gal- 
lant masts were got up, top-gallant and royal yards crossed, 
and the ship restored to her fair proportions. 

The Southern Cross we saw no more after the first night ; 
the Magellan Clouds settled lower and lower in the horizon ; 
and so great was our change of latitude each succeeding 
night, that we sank some constellation in the south, and 
raised another in the northern horizon. 

Sunday, July :^ist. At noon we were in lat. 36° 41' S., 



362 TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 

long. 38° 08' W. ; having traversed the distance of two 
thousand miles, allowing for changes of course, in nine 
days. A thousand miles in four days and a half ! — This 
is equal to steam. 

Soon after eight o'clock, the appearance of the ship gave 
evidence that this was the first Sunday we had yet had in 
fine weather. As the sun came up clear, with the promise 
of a fair, warm day, and, as usual on Sunday, there was no 
work going on, all hands turned-to upon clearing out the 
forecastle. The wet and soiled clothes which had accumu- 
lated there during the past month, were brought up on deck ; 
the chests moved; brooms, buckets of water, swabs, 
scrubbing-brushes, and scrapers carried down, and applied, 
until the forecastle floor was as white as chalk, and every- 
thing neat and in order. The bedding from the berths 
was then spread on deck, and dried, and aired ; the deck-tub 
filled with water; and a grand washing begun of all the 
clothes which were brought up. Shirts, frocks, drawers, 
trowsers, jackets, stockings, of every shape and color, wet 
and dirty — many of them mouldy from having been lying 
a long time wet in a foul corner — these were all washed and 
scrubbed out, and finally towed overboard for half an hour ; 
and then made fast in the rigging to dry. Wet boots and 
shoes were spread out to dry in sunny places on decks ; and 
the whole ship looked like a back yard on a washing day. 
After we had done with our clothes, we began upon our 
own persons. A little fresh water, which we had saved 
from our allowance, was put in buckets, and, with soap and 
towels, we had what the sailors call a fresh- water wash. 
The same bucket, to be sure, had to go through several 
hands, and was spoken for by one after another, but as we 
rinsed off in salt water, pure from the ocean, and the fresh 
was used only to start the accumulated grime and blackness 
of five weeks, it was held of little consequence. We soaped 
down and scrubbed one another with towels and pieces of 
canvas, stripping to it; and then, getting into the head, 
threw buckets of water upon each other. After this, came 



TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 363 

shaving, and combing, and brushing; and when, having 
spent the first part of the day in this way, we sat down on 
the forecastle, in the afternoon, with clean duck trowsers, 
and shirts on, washed, shaved, and combed, and looking a 
dozen shades lighter for it, reading, sewing, and talking at 
our ease, with a clear sky and warm sun over our heads, a 
steady breeze over the larboard quarter, studding-sails out 
alow and aloft, and all the flying kites abroad ; — we felt 
that we had got back into the pleasantest part of a sailor's 
life. At sun-down the clothes were all taken down from 
the rigging — clean and dry — and stowed neatly away in 
our chests; and our south-westers, thick boots, guernsey 
frocks, and other accompaniments of bad weather, put out 
of the way, we hoped, for the rest of the voyage, as we ex- 
pected to come upon the coast early in the autumn. 

Notwithstanding all that has been said about the beauty 
of a ship under full sail, there are very few who have ever 
seen a ship, Hterally, under all her sail. A ship coming in 
or going out of port, with her ordinary sails, and perhaps 
two or three studding-sails, is commonly said to be under 
full sail ; but a ship never has all her sail upon her, except 
when she has a light, steady breeze, very nearly, but not 
quite, dead aft, and so regular that it can be trusted, and is 
likely to last for some time. Then, with all her sails, light 
and heavy, and studding-sails, on each side, alow and aloft, 
she is the most glorious moving object in the world. Such a 
sight, very few, even some who have been at sea a good deal, 
have ever beheld ; for from the deck of your own vessel you 
cannot see her, as you would a separate object. 

One night, while we were in these tropics, I went out to 
the end of the flying-jib-boom, upon some duty, and, having 
finished it, turned round, and lay over the boom for a long 
time, admiring the beauty of the sight before me. Being so 
far out from the deck, I could look at the ship, as at a 
separate vessel ; — and, there, rose up from the water, sup- 
ported only by the small black hull, a pyramid of canvas, 
spreading out far beyond the hull, and towering up almost, 



364 TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 

as it seemed in the indistinct night air, to the clouds. The 
sea was as still as an inland lake ; the light trade- wind was 
gently and steadily breathing from astern ; the dark blue 
sky was studded with the tropical stars ; there was no sound 
but the rippling of the water undsr the stem ; and the sails 
were spread out, wide and high ; — the two lower studding- 
sails stretching, on each side, far beyond the deck ; the top- 
mast studding-sails, like wings to the topsails ; the top- 
gallant studding-sails spreading fearlessly out above them ; 
still higher, the two royal studding-sails, looking like two 
kites flying from the same string; and, highest of all, the 
little skysail, the apex of the pyramid, seeming actually to 
touch the stars, and to be out of reach of human hand. So 
quiet, too, was the sea, and so steady the breeze, that if 
these sails had been sculptured marble, they could not have 
been more motionless. Not a ripple upon the surface of 
the canvas; not even a quivering of the extreme edges of 
the sail — so perfectly were they distended by the breeze. 
I was so lost in the sight, that I forgot the presence of the 
man who came out with me, until he said (for he, too, rough 
old man-of-war's-man as he was, had been gazing at the 
show), half to himself, still looking at the marble sails — 
"How quietly they do their work !" 

The fine weather brought work with it, as the ship was 
to be put in order for coming into port. This may give a 
landsman some notion of what is done on board ship. — 
All the first part of a passage is spent in getting a ship 
ready for sea, and the last part in getting her ready for port. 
She is, as sailors say, like a lady's watch, always out of 
repair. The new, strong sails, which we had up off Cape 
Horn, were to be sent down, and the old set, which were still 
serviceable in fine weather, to be bent in their place; all 
the rigging to be set up, fore and aft ; the masts stayed ; the 
standing rigging to be tarred down ; lower and top-mast 
rigging rattled down, fore and aft ; the ship scraped, inside 
and out, and painted; decks varnished; new and neat 
knots, seizings and coverings to be fitted; and every part 



TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 365 

put in order, to look well to the owner's eye, on coming 
into Boston. This, of course, was a long matter; and all 
hands were kept on deck at work for the whole of each day, 
during the rest of the voyage. Sailors call this hard usage ; 
but the ship must be in crack order, and "we're homeward 
bound" was the answer to everything. 

We went on for several days, employed in this way, 
nothing remarkable occurring; and, at the latter part of 
the week, fell in with the south-east trades, blowing about 
east-south-east, which brought them nearly two points 
abaft our beam. These blew strong and steady, so that 
we hardly started a rope, until we were beyond their lati- 
tude. The first day of "all hands," one of those little inci- 
dents occurred, which are nothing in themselves, but are 
great matters in the eyes of a ship's company, as they serve 
to break the monotony of a voyage, and afford conversation 
to the crew for days afterwards. These small matters, too, 
are often interesting, as they show the customs and state 
of feeling on shipboard. 

In merchant vessels, the captain gives his orders, as to 
the ship's work, to the mate, in a general way, and leaves the 
execution of them, with the particular ordering, to him. 
This has become so fixed a custom, that it is like a law, and 
is never infringed upon by a wise master, unless his mate is 
no seaman ; in which case, the captain must often oversee 
things for himself. This, however, could not be said of our 
chief mate ; and he was very jealous of any encroachment 
upon the borders of his authority. 

On Monday morning, the captain told him to stay the fore 
top-mast plumb. He accordingly came forward, turned all 
hands to, with tackles on the stays and backstays, coming 
up with the seizings, hauling here, belaying there, and full 
of business, standing between the knight-heads to sight the 
mast, — when the captain came forward, and also began to 
give orders. This made confusion, and the mate, finding 
that he was all aback, left his place and went aft, saying to 
the captain — 



366 TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 

"If you come forward, sir, I'll go aft. One is enough on 
the forecastle." 

This produced a reply, and another fierce answer; and 
the words flew, fists were doubled up, and things looked 
threateningly. 

"I'm master of this ship." 

"Yes, sir, and I'm mate of her, and know my place ! 
My place is forward, and yours is aft !" 

"My place is where I choose! I command the wJwle 
ship ; and you are mate only so long as I choose !" 

"Say the word, Capt. T., and I'm done! I can do a 
man's work aboard ! I didn't come through the cabin win- 
dows ! If I'm not mate, I can be man," etc. 

This was aU fun for us, who stood by, winking at each 
other, and enjoying the contest between the higher powers. 
The captain took the mate aft ; and they had a long talk, 
which ended in the mate's returning to his duty. The cap- 
tain had broken through a custom, which is a part of the 
common law of a ship, and without reason ; for he knew 
that his mate was a sailor, and needed no help from him ; 
and the mate was excusable for being angry. Yet he was 
wrong, and the captain right. Whatever the captain does 
is right, ipso facto, and any opposition to it is wrong, on 
board ship ; and every officer and man knows this when he 
signs the ship's articles. It is a part of the contract. Yet 
there has grown up in merchant vessels a series of customs, 
which have become a well understood system, and have 
almost the force of prescriptive law. To be sure, all power 
is in the captain, and the officers hold their authority only 
during his will; and the men are Hable to be called upon 
for any servdce ; yet, by breaking in upon these usages, 
many difficulties have occurred on board ship, and even 
come into courts of justice, which are perfectly unintelli- 
gible to any one not acquainted with the universal nature 
and force of these customs. Many a provocation has been 
offered, and a system of petty oppression pursued towards 
men, the force and meaning of which would appear as noth- 



TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 367 

ing to strangers, and doubtless do appear so to many " 'long- 
shore" juries and judges. 

The next little diversion, was a battle on the forecastle, 
one afternoon, between the mate and the steward. They 
had been on bad terms the whole voyage ; and had threat- 
ened a rupture several times. This afternoon, the mate 
asked him for a tumbler of water, and he refused to get it 
for him, saying that he waited upon nobody but the captain : 
and here he had the custom on his side. But in answering, 
he left off "the handle to the mate's name." This enraged 
the mate, who called him a "black soger" ; and at it they 
went, clenching, striking, and rolling over and over ; while 
we stood by, looking on, and enjoying the fun. The darkey 
tried to butt him, but the mate got him down, and held him, 
the steward singing out, "Let me go, Mr. Brown, or there'll 
be blood spilt ! " In the midst of this, the captain came 
on deck, separated them, took the steward aft, and gave him 
a half a dozen with a rope's end. The steward tried to 
justify himself ; but he had been heard to talk of spilling 
blood, and that was enough to earn him his flogging ; and 
the captain did not choose to inquire any further. 



CHAPTER XXXIV 

The same day, I met with one of those narrow escapes, 
which are so often happening in a sailor's life. I had been 
aloft nearly all the afternoon, at work, standing for as much 
as an hour on the fore top-gallant yard, which was hoisted 
up, and hung only by the tie ; when, having got through my 
work, I balled up my yarns, took my serving-board in my 
hand, laid hold deliberately of the top-gallant rigging, 
took one foot from the yard, and was just lifting the other, 
when the tie parted, and down the yard fell. I was safe, 
by my hold upon the rigging, but it made my heart beat 
quick. Had the tie parted one instant sooner, or had I 
stood an instant longer on the yard, I should inevitably 
have been thrown violently from the height of ninety or an 
hundred feet, overboard ; or, what is worse, upon the deck. 
However, "a miss is as good as a mile;" a saying which 
sailors very often have occasion to use. An escape is 
always a joke on board ship. A man would be ridiculed 
who should make a serious matter of it. A sailor knows too 
well that his life hangs upon a thread, to wish to be always 
reminded of it ; so, if a man has an escape, he keeps it to 
himself, or makes a joke of it. I have often known a man's 
life to be saved by an instant of time, or by the merest 
chance, — the swinging of a rope, — and no notice taken 
of it. One of our boys, when off Cape Horn, reefing top- 
sails of a dark night, and when there were no boats to be 
lowered away, and where, if a man fell overboard, he must 
be left behind, — lost his hold of the reef-point, slipped 
from the foot-rope, and would have been in the water in a 
moment, when the man who was next to him on the yard 
caught him by the collar of his jacket, and hauled him up 
upon the yard, with — "Hold on, another time, you young 

368 



TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 369 

monkey, and be d d to you !" — and that was all that 

was heard about it. 

Sunday, August Jth. Lat. 25° 59' S., long. 27° o' W. 
Spoke the English bark Mary-Catherine, from Bahia, bound 
to Calcutta. This was the first sail we had fallen in with, 
and the first time we had seen a human form or heard the 
human voice, except of our own number, for nearly an 
hundred days. The very yo-ho-ing of the sailors at the 
ropes sounded sociably upon the ear. She was an old, 
damaged-looking craft, with a high poop and top-gallant 
forecastle, and sawed off square, stem and stern, like a true 
EngHsh "tea- wagon," and with a run like a sugar-box. 
She had studding-sails out alow and aloft, with a light but 
steady breeze, and her captain said he could not get more 
than four knots out of her; and thought he should have 
a long passage. We were going six on an easy bowline. 

The next day, about three p.m., passed a large corvette- 
built ship, close upon the wind, with royals and skysails 
set fore and aft, under English colors. She was standing 
south-by-east, probably bound round Cape Horn. She 
had men in her tops, and black mast-heads ; heavily sparred, 
with sails cut to a T, and other marks of a man-of-war. She 
sailed well, and presented a fine appearance; the proud, 
aristocratic-looking banner of St. George, the cross in a 
blood-red field, waving from the mizen. We probably were 
as fine a sight, with our studding-sails spread far out beyond 
the ship on either side, and rising in a pyramid to royal 
studding-sails and skysails, burying the hull in canvas, 
and looking like what the whalemen on the Banks, under 
their stump top-gallant masts, call "a Cape Horn-er under 
a cloud of sail." 

Friday, August 12th. At daylight made the island of 
Trinidad, situated in lat. 20° 28' S., long. 29° 08' W. At 
twelve, M., it bore N.W.^N., distant twenty-seven miles. 
It was a beautiful day, the sea hardly ruffled by the light 
trades, and the island looking like a small blue mound 
rising from a field of glass. Such a fair and peaceful-look- 



370 TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 

ing spot is said to have been, for a long time, the resort of 
a band of pirates, who ravaged the tropical seas. 

Thursday^ August iSth. At three, p.m., made the island 
of Fernando Naronha, lying in lat. 3° 55' S., long. 32° 35' 
W. ; and between twelve o'clock Friday night and one 
o'clock Saturday morning, crossed the equator, for the 
fourth time since leaving Boston, in long. 35° W. ; having 
been twenty-seven days from Staten Land — a distance, 
by the courses we had made, of more than four thousand 
miles. 

We were now to the northward of the line, and every 
day added to our latitude. The Magellan Clouds, the last 
sign of south latitude, were sunk in the horizon, and the 
north star, the Great Bear, and the familiar signs of northern 
latitudes, were rising in the heavens. Next to seeing land, 
there is no sight which makes one realize more that he is 
drawing near home, than to see the same heavens, under 
which he was born, shining at night over his head. The 
weather was extremely hot, with the usual tropical alterna- 
tions of a scorching sun and squalls of rain ; yet not a word 
was said in complaint of the heat, for we all remembered 
that only three or four weeks before we would have given 
nearly our all to have been where we now were. We had 
a plenty of water, too, which we caught by spreading an 
awning, with shot thrown in to make hollows. These rain 
squalls came up in the manner usual between the tropics. — 
A clear sky ; burning, vertical sun ; work going lazily on, 
and men about decks with nothing but duck trowsers, 
checked shirts, and straw hats; the ship moving as lazily 
through the water; the man at the helm resting against 
the wheel, with his hat drawn over his eyes; the captain 
below, taking an afternoon nap ; the passenger leaning over 
the taffrail, watching a dolph'n following slowly in our 
wake ; the sailmaker mending an old topsail on the lee side 
of the quarter-deck; the carpenter working at his bench, 
in the waist ; the boys making sinnet ; the spun-yarn winch 
whizzing round and round, and the men walking slowly fore 




HOLD ON ANOTHER TIME. YOU YOUNG 
MONKEY 




ing spc been, for a iong tin 

- — i.,, ravaged the tropical u..^.. ^ 

- 18/A. At three, P.M., made '-.he island .^ 
oi Fci 'la, lying in lat. 3° 55' '^^ 

W- : twelve o'clock Friday 

o". ay morning, crossed the e^ 

' aving Boston, in long. 3^, .; . . 
days from Staten Land — a c 
by tht we had made, of more than four thousand 

miles. 

We were now to the northward of the line, and every 

day added to our latitude. The Magellan Clouds, the last 

sign of south latitucV? were sunk in the horizon, and the 

5 i.orth sUr, the Gre> nd the familiar signs of northern 

- .: ,,-j,.. ,rrf.YQ j-jj;,- , . _,^ , ., heavens. Next to seeing land, 

s?Jl^V'^^(MO^ak5MHie5iai^fF©RWr<M^^a(§J^^ 

iian to 9Pa:^l^|#ixie heavens, under 

■lining at night over his head. The 

:tremely hot, with the usual tropical alterna- 

lions 01 a : lurching sun and squalls of rain ; yet not a word 

was said in complaint of the heat, for we all remembered 

that only three or four weeks before we would ha V 

nearly our all to have been wh< rc -^-t- r:r)w v.— rr 
c. plenty of water, too, which 
" u^, with shot thr ' ' 
.-. came up in thr 
A clear sky; bun 

and men -hc^^^ , .r' ' 

checked f '^P moving as lazily ^ 

through the -^- '^^^e helm resting agair-t ^ 

the wheel, wi. ■ over his eyes; the capt.:i: 

V, t' king an afternoon nap ; the passenger leaning o ■- 
'jl, watching a dolph'n following slowly '" 
'; sailTnaker mending an old topsail on the 
:k; the carpenter v,- ' ' 
:. s f^ riakine- sinnet ; 

the men waikin 



TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 371 

and aft with the yarns. — A cloud rises to windward, look- 
ing a little black; the skysails are brailed down; the 
captain puts his head out of the companion-way, looks at 
the cloud, comes up, and begins to walk the deck. — The 
cloud spreads and comes on ; — the tub of yarns, the sail, 
and other matters, are thrown below, and the sky-light and 
booby-hatch put on, and the slide drawn over the fore- 
castle. — "Stand by the royal halyards;" — the man at 
the wheel keeps a good weather helm, so as not to be taken 
aback. — The squall strikes her. If it is light, the royal 
yards are clewed down, and the ship keeps on her way; 
but if the squall takes strong hold, the royals are clewed up, 
fore and aft ; light hands lay aloft and furl them ; top-gal- 
lant yards clewed down, flying- jib hauled down, and the ship 
kept off before it, — the man at the helm laying out his 
strength to heave the wheel up to windward. At the same 
time a drenching rain, which soaks one through in an in- 
stant. Yet no one puts on a jacket or cap ; for if it is only 
warm, a sailor does not mind a ducking ; and the sun will 
soon be out again. As soon as the force of the squall has 
passed, though to a common eye the ship would seem to be 
in the midst of it, — "Keep her up to her course, again ! " — 
"Keep her up, sir" (answer); — "Hoist away the top- 
gallant yards !" — "Run up the flying- jib !" — "Lay aloft, 
you boys, and loose the royals !" — and all sail is on her 
again before she is fairly out of the squall ; and she is going 
on in her course. The sun comes out once more, hotter 
than ever, dries up the decks and the sailors' clothes ; the 
hatches are taken off; the sail got up and spread on the 
quarter-deck; spun-yarn winch set a whirling again; rig- 
ging coiled up ; captain goes below ; and every sign of an 
interruption is removed. 

These scenes, with occasional dead calms, lasting for 
hours, and sometimes for days, are fair specimens of the 
Atlantic tropics. The nights were fine ; and as we had all 
hands all day, the watch were allowed to sleep on deck at 
night, except the man at the wheel, and one look-out on the 



372 TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 

forecastle. This was not so much expressly allowed, as 
winked at. We could do it if we did not ask leave. If the 
look-out was caught napping, the whole watch was kept 
awake. We made the most of this permission, and stowed 
ourselves away upon the rigging, under the weather rail, 
on the spars, under the windlass, and in all the snug corners ; 
and frequently slept out the watch, unless we had a wheel 
or a look-out. And we were glad enough to get this rest ; 
for under the *'all hands" system, out of every other 
thirty-six hours, we had only four below; and even an 
hour's sleep was a gain not to be neglected. One would have 
thought so, to have seen our watch, some nights, sleeping 
through a heavy rain. And often have we come on deck, 
and finding a dead calm and a light, steady rain, and de- 
termined not to lose our sleep, have laid a coil of rigging 
down so as to keep us out of the water which was washing 
about decks, and stowed ourselves away upon it, covering a 
jacket over us, and slept as soundly as a Dutchman between 
two feather beds. 

For a week or ten days after crossing the line, we had 
the usual variety of calms, squalls, head winds, and fair 
winds ; — at one time braced sharp upon the wind, with a 
taught bowline, and in an hour after, slipping quietly along, 
with a light breeze over the taffrail, and studding-sails out 
on both sides ; — until we fell in with the north-east trade- 
winds ; which we did on the afternoon of 

Sunday, August aSth, in lat. 12° N. The trade- wind 
clouds had been in sight for a day or two previously, and we 
expected to take them every hour. The light southerly 
breeze, which had been blowing languidly during the first 
part of the day, died away toward noon, and in its place 
came puffs from the north-east, which caused us to take 
our studding-sails in and brace up ; and, in a couple of hours 
more, we were bowling gloriously along, dashing the spray 
far ahead and to leeward, with the cool, steady north-east 
trades, freshening up the sea, and giving us as much as we 
could carry our royals to. These winds blew strong and 



TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 373 

steady, keeping us generally upon a bowline, as our course 
was about north-north-west; and sometimes, as they 
veered a little to the eastward, giving us a chance at a main 
top-gallant studding-sail ; and sending us well to the north- 
ward, until — 

Sunday, Sept. 4th, when they left us, in lat. 22° N., long. 
51° W., directly under the tropic of Cancer. ' 

For several days we lay "humbugging about" in the 
Horse latitudes, with all sorts of winds and weather, and 
occasionally, as we were in the latitude of the West Indies, 
— a thunder storm. It was hurricane month, too, and we 
were just in the track of the tremendous hurricane of 1830, 
which swept the North Atlantic, destroying almost every- 
thing before it. The first night after the trade-winds left 
us, while we were in the latitude of the island of Cuba, we 
had a specimen of a true tropical thunder storm. A light 
breeze had been blowing directly from aft during the first 
part of the night, which gradually died away, and before 
midnight it was dead calm, and a heavy black cloud had 
shrouded the whole sky. When our watch came on aeck 
at twelve o'clock, it was as black as Erebus, the studding- 
sails were all taken in, and the royals furled ; not a breath 
was stirring; the sails hung heavy and motionless from 
the yards ; and the perfect stillness, and the darkness, which 
was almost palpable, were truly appalling. Not a word 
was spoken, but every one stood as though waiting for 
something to happen. In a few minutes the mate came 
forward, and in a low tone, which was almost a whisper, 
told us to haul down the jib. The fore and mizen top- 
gallant sails were taken in, in the same silent manner ; and 
we lay motionless upon the water, with an uneasy expec- 
tation, which, from the long suspense, became actually 
painful. We could hear the captain walking the deck, 
but it was too dark to see anything more than one's hand 
before the face. Soon the mate came forward again, and 
gave an order, in a low tone, to clew up the main top-gallant 
sail; and so infectious was the awe and silence, that the 



374 TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 

clewlines and buntlines were hauled up without any of 
the customary singing out at the ropes. An English lad 
and myself went up to furl it ; and we had just got the bunt 
up, when the mate called out to us, something, we did not 
hear what, — but supposing it to be an order to bear-a- 
hand, we hurried, and made all fast, and came down, feeling 
our way among the rigging. When we got down we found 
all hands looking aloft, and there, directly over where we 
had been standing, upon the main top-gallant-mast-head, 
was a ball of light, which the sailors name a corposant 
(corpus sancti), and which the mate had called out to us to 
look at. They were all watching it carefully, for sailors have 
a notion that if the corposant rises in the rigging, it is a 
sign of fair weather, but if it comes lower down, there will 
be a storm. Unfortunately, as an omen, it came down, 
and showed itself on the top-gallant yard-arm. We were 
off the yard in good season, for it is held a fatal sign to have 
the pale light of the corposant thrown upon one's face. As 
it was, the English lad did not feel comfortably at having 
had it so near him, and directly over his head. In a few 
minutes it disappeared, and showed itself again on the fore 
top-gallant yard; and after playing about for some time, 
disappeared again ; when the man on the forecastle pointed 
to it upon the flying-jib-boom-end. But our attention 
was drawn from watching this, by the falling of some drops 
of rain, and by a perceptible increase of the darkness, which 
seemed suddenly to add a new shade of blackness to the 
night. In a few minutes, low, grumbling thunder was 
heard, and some random flashes of lightning came from the 
south-west. Every sail was taken in but the topsails; 
still, no squall appeared to be coming. A few puffs lifted 
the topsails, but they fell again to the mast, and all was as 
still as ever. A moment more, and a terrific flash and peal 
broke simultaneously upon us, and a cloud appeared to 
open directly over our heads and let down the water in one 
body, like a falling ocean. We stood motionless, and almost 
stupefied ; yet nothing had been struck. Peal after peal 



TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 375 

rattled over our heads, with a sound which seemed actually 
to stop the breath in the body, and the "speedy gleams" 
kept the whole ocean in a glare of light. The violent fall 
of rain lasted but a few minutes, and was succeeded by 
occasional drops and showers ; but the lightning continued 
incessant for several hours, breaking the midnight darkness 
with irregular and blinding flashes. During all which time 
there was not a breath stirring, and we lay motionless, 
like a mark to be shot at, probably the only object on the 
surface of the ocean for miles and miles. We stood hour 
after hour, until our watch was out, and we were relieved, 
at four o'clock. During all this time, hardly a word was 
spoken; no bells were struck, and the wheel was silently 
relieved. The rain fell at intervals in heavy showers, and 
we stood drenched through and bUnded by the flashes, 
which broke the Egyptian darkness with a brightness which 
seemed almost malignant ; while the thunder rolled in peals, 
the concussion of which appeared to shake the very ocean. 
A ship is not often injured by lightning, for the electricity 
is separated by the great number of points she presents, and 
the quantity of iron which she has scattered in various parts. 
The electric fluid ran over our anchors, topsail sheets and 
ties ; yet no harm was done to us. We went below at four 
o'clock leaving things in the same state. It is not easy to 
sleep, when the very next flash may tear the ship in two, 
or set her on fire; or where the deathlike calm may be 
broken by the blast of a hurricane, taking the masts out of 
the ship. But a man is no sailor if he cannot sleep when he 
turns-in, and turn out when he's called. And when, at 
seven bells, the customary "All the larboard watch, ahoy !" 
brought us on deck, it was a fine, clear, sunny morning, the 
ship going leisurely along, with a good breeze and all sail 
set. 



CHAPTER XXXV 

From the latitude of the West Indies, until we got inside 
the Bermudas, where we took the westerly and south- 
westerly winds, which blow steadily off the coast of the 
United States early in the autumn, we had every variety 
of weather, and two or three moderate gales, or, as sailors 
call them, double-reef-topsail breezes, which came on in 
the usual manner, and of which one is a specimen of all. 
— A fine afternoon ; all hands at work, some in the rig- 
ging, and others on deck ; a stiff breeze, and ship close 
upon the wind, and skysails brailed down. — Latter part 
of the afternoon, breeze increases, ship lies over to it, and 
clouds look windy. Spray begins to fly over the forecastle, 
and wets the yarns the boys are knotting ; — ball them up 
and put them below. — Mate knocks off work and clears 
up decks earlier than usual, and orders a man who has been 
employed aloft to send the royal halyards over to windward, 
as he comes down. Breast backstays hauled taught, and 
tackle got upon the martingale back-rope. — One of the 
boys furls the mizen royal. — Cook thinks there is going to 
be "nasty work," and has supper ready early. — Mate gives 
orders to get supper by the watch, instead of all hands, as 
usual. — While eating supper, hear the watch on deck 
taking in the royals. — Coming on deck, find it is blowing 
harder, and an ugly head sea is running. — Instead of having 
all hands on the forecastle in the dog watch, smoking, 
singing, and telling yarns, one watch goes below and turns- 
in, saying that it's going to be an ugly night, and two hours' 
sleep is not to be lost. Clouds look black and wild ; wind 
rising, and ship working hard against a heavy head sea, 
which breaks over the forecastle, and washes aft through 
the scuppers. Still, no more sail is taken in, for the captain 

376 



TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 377 

is a driver, and, like all drivers, very partial to his top- 
gallant sails. The top-gallant sail, too, makes the difference 
between a breeze and a gale. When a top-gallant sail is 
on a ship, it is only a breeze, though I have seen ours set 
over a reefed topsail, when half the bowsprit was under 
water, and it was up to a man's knees in the lee scuppers. 
At eight bells, nothing is said about reefing the topsails, 
and the watch go below, with orders to "stand by for a call." 
We turn-in, growling at the "old man" for not reefing the 
topsails when the watch was changed, but putting it off so as 
to call all hands, and break up a whole watch below. Turn- 
in "all standing," and keep ourselves awake, saying there is 
no use in going to sleep to be waked up again. — Wind 
whistles on deck, and ship works hard, groaning and creak- 
ing, and pitching into a heavy head sea, which strikes against 
the bows, with a noise like knocking upon a rock. — The 
dim lamp in the forecastle swings to and fro, and things 
"fetch away" and go over to leeward. — "Doesn't that 
booby of a second mate ever mean to take in his top-gallant 
sails ? — He'll have the sticks out of her soon," says old Bill, 
who was always growling, and, like most old sailors, did not 
like to see a ship abused. — By-and-by, an order is given ; 
— "Aye, aye, sir !" from the forecastle ; — rigging is heaved 
down on deck ; — the noise of a sail is heard fluttering aloft, 
and the short, quick cry which sailors make when hauling 
upon clewlines. — "Here comes his fore top-gallant sail 
in !" — We are wide awake, and know all that's going on 
as well as if we were on deck. — A well-known voice is heard 
from the mast-head singing out to the officer of the watch 
to haul taught the weather brace. — "Hallo! There's 

S aloft to furl the sail!" — Next thing, rigging is 

heaved down directly over our heads, and a long-drawn 
cry and a rattling of hanks announce that the flying-jib has 
come in. — The second mate holds on to the main top- 
gallant sail until a heavy sea is shipped, and washes over the 
forecastle as though the whole ocean had come aboard; 
when a noise further aft shows that that sail, too, is taking 



378 TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 

in. After this, the ship is more easy for a time ; two bells 
are struck, and we try to get a little sleep. By-and-by, — 
bang, bang, bang, on the scuttle — ''All ha-a-ands, a ho- 
o-y ! " — We spring out of our berths, clap on a monkey- 
jacket and south-wester, and tumble up the ladder. — Mate 
up before us, and on the forecastle, singing out like a roar- 
ing bull; the captain singing out on the quarter-deck, 
and the second mate yelling, like a hyena, in the waist. 
The ship is lying over half upon her beam-ends ; lee scuppers 
under water, and forecastle all in a smother of foam. — 
Rigging all let go, and washing about decks; topsail 
yards down upon the caps, and sails flapping and beating 
against the mast; and starboard watch hauling out the 
reef-tackles of the main topsail. Our watch haul out 
the fore, and lay aloft and put two reefs into it, and reef the 
foresail, and race with the starboard watch, to see which 
will mast-head its topsail first. All hands tally-on to the 
main tack, and while some are furling the jib, and hoisting 
the stay-sail, we mizen-top-men double-reef the mizen 
topsail and hoist it up. All being made fast — "Go below, 
the watch !" and we turn-in to sleep out the rest of the time, 
which is perhaps an hour and a half. During all the middle, 
and for the first part of the morning watch, it blows as 
hard as ever, but toward day-break it moderates consider- 
ably, and we shake a reef out of each topsail, and set the 
top-gallant sails over them ; and when the watch come up, 
at seven bells, for breakfast, shake the other reefs out, turn 
all hands to upon the halyards, get the watch-tackle upon 
the top-gallant sheets and halyards, set the flying-jib, and 
crack on to her again. 

Our captain had been married only a few weeks before 
he left Boston; and, after an absence of over two years, 
it may be supposed he was not slow in carrying sail. The 
mate, too, was not to be beaten by anybody ; and the second 
mate, though he was afraid to press sail, was afraid as death 
of the captain, and being between two fears, sometimes 
carried on longer than any of them. We snapped off three 



TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 379 

flying-jib booms in twenty-four hours, as fast as they could 
be fitted and rigged out; sprung the sprit-sail yard; and 
made nothing of studding-sail booms. Beside the natural 
desire to get home, we had another reason for urging the 
ship on. The scurvy had begun to show itself on board. 
One man had it so badly as to be disabled and off duty, 
and the English lad, Ben, was in a dreadful ^tate, and was 
daily growing worse. His legs swelled and pained him so 
that he could not walk ; his flesh lost its elasticity, so that 
if it was pressed in, it would not return to its shape ; and 
his gums swelled until he could not open his mouth. His 
breath, too, became very offensive ; he lost all strength and 
spirit ; could eat nothing ; grew worse every day ; and, in 
fact, unless something was done for him, would be a dead 
man in a week, at the rate at which he was sinking. The 
medicines were all, or nearly all, gone ; and if we had had a 
chest-full, they would have been of no use ; for nothing but 
fresh provisions and terra firma has any effect upon the 
scurvy. This disease is not so common now as formerly; 
and is attributed generally to salt provisions, want of clean- 
liness, the free use of grease and fat (which is the reason of 
its prevalence among whalemen), and, last of all, to laziness. 
It never could have been from the latter cause on board our 
ship ; nor from the second, for we were a very cleanly crew, 
kept our forecastle in neat order, and were more particular 
about washing and changing clothes than many better- 
dressed people on shore. It was probably from having none 
but salt provisions, and possibly from our having run very 
rapidly into hot weather, after having been so long in the 
extremest cold. 

Depending upon the westerly winds, which prevail off 
the coast in the autumn, the captain stood well to the 
westward, to run inside of the Bermudas, and in the hope of 
falling in with some vessel bound to the West Indies or the 
Southern States. The scurvy had spread no farther among 
the crew, but there was danger that it might; and these 
cases were bad ones. 



38o TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 

Sunday, Sept. nth. Lat 30° 04' N., long. 63° 23' W. ; 
the Bermudas bearing north-north-west, distant one hun- 
dred and fifty miles. The next morning, about ten o'clock, 
''Sail ho !" was cried on deck; and all hands turned up to 
see the stranger. As she drew nearer, she proved to be 
an ordinary-looking hermaphrodite brig, standing south- 
south-east; and probably bound out, from the Northern 
States, to the West Indies ; and was just the thing we wished 
to see. She hove-to for us, seeing that we wished to speak 
her ; and we ran down to her ; boom-ended our studding- 
sails; backed our main topsail, and hailed her — "Brig, 
ahoy !'' — "Hallo !" — "Where are you from, pray?" — 
"From New York, bound to Curagoa." — "Have you any 
fresh provisions to spare ?" — "Aye, aye ! plenty of them !" 
We lowered away the quarter-boat, instantly ; and the 
captain and four hands sprang in, and were soon dancing 
over the water, and alongside the brig. In about half an 
hour, they returned with half a boat-load of potatoes and 
onions, and each vessel filled away, and kept on her course. 
She proved to be the brig Solon, of Plymouth, from the Con- 
necticut river, and last from New York, boimd to the Span- 
ish Main, with a cargo of fresh pro\dsions, mules, tin bake- 
pans, and other notions. The onions were genuine and 
fresh ; and the mate of the brig told the men in the boat, 
as he passed the bunches over the side, that the girls 
had strung them on purpose for us the day he sailed. We 
had supposed, on board, that a new president had been 
chosen, the last winter, and, just as we filled away, the cap- 
tain hailed and asked who was president of the United 
States. They answered, Andrew Jackson ; but thinking 
that the old General could not have been elected for a third 
time, we hailed again, and they answered — Jack Downing ; 
and left us to correct the mistake at our leisure. 

It was just dinner-time when we filled away; and the 
steward, taking a few bunches of onions for the cabin, gave 
the rest to us, with a bottle of vinegar. We carried them 
forward, stowed them away in the forecastle, refusing to 



TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 381 

have them cooked, and ate them raw, with our beef and 
bread. And a glorious treat they were. The freshness 
and crispness of the raw onion, with the earthy taste, give 
it a great relish to one who has been a long time on salt 
provisions. We were perfectly ravenous after them. It 
was hke a scent of blood to a hound. We ate them at every 
meal, by the dozen ; and filled our pockets with them, to 
eat in our watch on deck; and the bunches, rising in the 
form of a cone, from the largest at the bottom, to the small- 
est, no larger than a strawberry, at the top, soon disap- 
peared. The chief use, however, of the fresh provisions, was 
for the men with the scurvy. One of them was able to eat, 
and he soon brought himself to, by gnawing upon raw pota- 
toes ; but the other, by this time, was hardly able to open 
his mouth ; and the cook took the potatoes raw, pounded 
them in a mortar, and gave him the juice to drink. This he 
swallowed, by the tea-spoonful at a time, and rinsed it about 
his gums and throat. The strong earthy taste and smell of 
this extract of the raw potato at first produced a shuddering 
through his whole frame, and after drinking it, an acute 
pain, which ran through all parts of his body ; but knowing, 
by this, that it was taking strong hold, he persevered, drink- 
ing a spoonful every hour or so, and holding it a long time in 
his mouth ; until, by the effect of this drink, and of his own 
restored hope (for he had nearly given up, in despair), he be- 
came so well as to be able to move about, and open his mouth 
enough to eat the raw potatoes and onions pounded into a soft 
pulp. This course soon restored his appetite and strength ; 
and in ten days after we spoke the Solon, so rapid was 
his recovery, that, from lying helpless and almost hopeless 
in his berth, he was at the mast-head, furling a royal. 
With a fine south-west wind, we passed inside of the Ber- 
mudas; and notwithstanding the old couplet, which was 
quoted again and again by those who thought we should 
have one more touch of a storm before our voyage was up, — 

" If the Bermudas let you pass, 
You must beware of Hatteras — " 



382 TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 

we were to the northward of Hatteras, "nith good weather, 
and beginning to count,, not the days, but the hours, to the 
time when we should be at anchor in Boston harbor. 

Our ship was in fine order, all hands having been hard at 
work upon her from daylight to dark. ever>- day but Sun- 
day, from the time we got into warm weather on this side 
the Cape. 

It is a common notion Vv-ith landsmen that a ship is in her 
finest condition when she leaves port to enter upon her 
voyage ; and that she comes home, after a long absence, 

"With over-vreathered ribs and ragged sails; 
Lean, rent and beggared by the strumpet wind." 

But so far from that, unless a ship meets with some accident, 
or comes upon the coast in the dead of winter, when work 
cannot be done upon the rigging, she is in her finest order at 
the end of the voyage. \\Tien she sails from port, her rig- 
ging is generally slack ; the masts need sta}dng ; the decks 
and sides are black and dirty from taking in cargo ; riggers' 
seizings and overhand knots in place of nice seam.anlike 
work ; and ever^'thing, to a sailor's eye, adrift. But on the 
passage home, the fine weather between the tropics is spent 
in putting the ship into the neatest order. No merchant 
vessel looks better than an Indiaman, or a Cape Hom-er, 
after a long voyage; and many captains and mates will 
stake their reputation for seamanship upon the appearance 
of their ship when she hauls into the dock. All our standing 
rigging, fore and aft, was set up and tarred; the masts 
stayed ; the lower and top-mast rigging rattled down (or 
up, as the fashion now is) ; and so careful were our officers 
to keep the rattlins taught and straight, that we were 
obHged to go aloft upon the ropes and shearpoles with which 
the rigging was swifted in ; and these were used as jur>^ 
rattlins until we got close upon the coast. After this, the 
ship was scraped, inside and out, decks, masts, booms and 
all; a stage being rigged outside, upon which we scraped 




■EMPTY TAR BARRELS WERE SET ON FIRE AND'' 
THROWN OVERBOARD 



;?S. ':^WU Kt.A)s^ BEi'UKi:: THE MA?; 

we were to the northward of Hatteras, with good weather 

and begi- '""-'" ' - count, not the days, but the ho-ur&, to the 
time wL ujd be at anchor in Boston harb<'r. 

Our ship was in line order, ajl hands having been Itard at 
work upon her from daylight to dark, every day !>ut Sun 
day, from the time we got into warm weather on this side 
the Cape. 

It is a com 'on with landsmen that a ship is in hei 

finest condit" ■■ she leaves port to enter upon her 

.,..-...■ -p « r.vr,^^^ home, after a long absence, 

■' Witti jver-weatnereci nbs and ragged sails; 
LeaT). rent and beggared by the strampet wind." 



iX 



.-:■- .i;.Arvv c , ,j i'stcts with some accident, 
f^ "'m coast in the dead of winter, when work 

O^ifi^OS9i3)V<0.Q\4mQkW^ port, her rig- 
ging lie masts need staying ; the decks 
and Slue-:; ar-- i.iiicic :i!:a ciirty from taking in cargo ; riggers' 
seizings and overhand knots in place of nice seamanhke 
work ; and everything, to a sailor's eye, adrift. But on the 
passage home, the fine weather K.>fv„-AAT\ i hP +rp.-,-:, '■-- ^--r-.^--- 
in putting the ship into the 
vessel looks bett ' or a L 
after a long vov Mins ?."; 
stake their Tc , nianship appearance 
of their ship Wii -; ^-^.^ ..c^uis iato th- -' ..^j. our stand-- 
rigging, fore and aft, was set u} -red; the ir 
stayed; the d top-mast liggiiig rattled down 
^^. a^ the fa ¥ is) ; and so careful were our ofn: 
iins taught and straight, that we 
go aioi V. upon the ropes and shearpoles with w 
f^ was swifted in; and these were used 3s ■ 
we got close upon the coast. After 
- .- ' ".n<U(^ iiud out, decks, m^'^^'^ ''>-' 
outside, upon v 



TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 383 

her down to the water-line; pounding the rust off the 
chains, bolts, and fastenings. Then, taking two days of 
calm under the Hne, we painted her on the outside, giving 
her open ports in her streak, and finishing off the nice work 
upon the stern, where sat Neptune in his car, holding his 
trident, drawn by sea horses; and re-touched the gilding 
and coloring of the cornucopia which ornamented her billet- 
head. The inside was then painted, from the skysail truck 
to the waterways — the yards black ; mast-heads and tops, 
white; monkey-rail, black, white, and yellow; bulwarks, 
green; plank-shear, white, waterways, lead color, etc. 
The anchors and ring-bolts, and other iron work, were black- 
ened with coal-tar ; and the steward kept at work, pohsh- 
ing the brass of the wheel, bell, capstan, etc. The cabin, 
too, was scraped, varnished, and painted ; and the forecastle 
scraped and scrubbed ; there being no need of paint and 
varnish for Jack's quarters. The decks were then scraped 
and varnished, and everything useless thrown overboard; 
among which, the empty tar barrels were set on fire and 
thrown overboard, of a dark night, and left blazing astern, 
lighting up the ocean for miles. Add to all this labor, the 
neat work upon the rigging ; — the knots, flemish-eyes, 
splices, seizings, coverings, pointings, and grafl^gs, which 
show a ship in crack order. The last preparation, and 
which looked still more like coming into port, was getting 
the anchors over the bows, bending the cables, rowsing the 
hawsers up from between decks, and overhauHng the deep- 
sea-lead-line. 

Thursday, September i^th. This morning the tempera- 
ture and peculiar appearance of the water, the quantities 
of gulf-weed floating about, and a bank of clouds lying 
directly before us, showed that we were on the border of the 
Gulf Stream. This remarkable current, running north-east, 
nearly across the ocean, is almost constantly shrouded in 
clouds, and is the region of storms and heavy seas. Vessels 
often run from a clear sky and light wind, with all sail, at 
once into a heavy sea and cloudy sky, with double-reefed 



384 TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 

topsails. A sailor told me that on a passage from Gibraltar 
to Boston, his vessel neared the Gulf Stream with a light 
breeze, clear sky, and studding-sails out, alow and aloft; 
while, before it, was a long line of hea\y, black clouds, 
lying like a bank upon the water, and a vessel coming out of 
it, under double-reefed topsails, and with royal yards sent 
down. As they drew near, they began to take in sail after 
sail, until they were reduced to the same condition; and, 
after twelve or fourteen hours of rolling and pitching in a 
hea\y sea, before a smart gale, they ran out of the bank on 
the other side, and were in fine weather again, and under 
their royals and skysaHs. As we drew into it, the sky 
became cloudy, the sea high, and ever}'thing had the ap- 
pearance of the going off, or the coming on, of a storm. 
It was blowing no more than a stiff breeze ; yet the wind, 
being north-east, which is directly against the course of the 
current, made an ugly, chopping sea, which heaved and 
pitched the vessel about, so that we were obhged to send 
down the royal yards, and to take in our light saiJs. At 
noon, the thermometer, which had been repeatedly lowered 
into the water, showed the temperature to be seventy; 
which was considerably above that of the air, — as is 
always the case in the centre of the Stream. A lad who 
had been at work at the royal mast-head, came down upon 
deck, and took a turn round the long-boat ; and looking very 
pale, said he was so sick that he could stay aloft no longer, 
but was ashamed to acknowledge it to the officer. He went 
up again, but soon gave out and came down, and leaned 
over the rail, "as sick as a lady passenger." He had been to 
sea several years, and had, he said, never been sick before. 
He was made so by the irregular, pitching motion of the 
vessel, increased by the height to which he had been above 
the hull, which is like the fulcrimi of the lever An old 
saUor, who was at work on the top-gallant yard, said he 
felt disagreeably all the time, and was glad, when his job 
was done, to get down into the top, or upon deck. Another 
hand was sent to the royal mast-head, who staid nearly an 



TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 385 

hour, but gave up. The work must be done, and the mate 
sent me. I did very well for some time, but began at length 
to feel very unpleasantly, though I had never been sick 
since the first two days from Boston, and had been in all 
sorts of weather and situations. Still, I kept my place, 
and did not come down, until I had got through my work, 
which was more than two hours. The ship certainly never 
acted so badly before. She was pitched and jerked about in 
all manner of ways ; the sails seeming to have no steadying 
power over her. The tapering points of the masts made 
various curves and angles against the sky overhead, and 
sometimes, in one sweep of an instant, described an arc of 
more than forty-five degrees, bringing up with a sudden 
jerk which made it necessary to hold on with both hands, 
and then sweeping off, in another long, irregular curve. I 
was not positively sick, and came down with a look of in- 
difference, yet was not unwilling to get upon the comparative 
terra firma of the deck. A few hours more carried us 
through, and when we saw the sun go down, upon our lar- 
board beam, in the direction of the continent of North Amer- 
ica, we had left the bank of dark, stormy clouds astern, in 
the twilight. 



2C 



CHAPTER XXXVI 

Friday, Sept. i6th. Lat. 38° N., long. 69° 00' W. 
A fine south-west wind; every hour carrying us nearer in 
toward the land. All hands on deck at the dog watch, 
and nothing talked about, but our getting in; where we 
should make the land; whether we should arrive before 
Sunday ; going to church ; how Boston would look ; 
friends ; wages paid ; — and the like. Every one was in 
the best spirits ; and, the voyage being nearly at an end, the 
strictness of discipline was relaxed ; for it was not necessary 
to order in a cross tone, what every one was ready to do with 
a will. The little differences and quarrels which a long 
voyage breeds on board a ship, were forgotten, and every 
one was friendly ; and two men, who had been on the eve 
of a battle half the voyage, were laying out a plan together 
for the cruise on shore. When the mate came forward, he 
talked to the men, and said we should be on George's Banks 
before to-morrow noon ; and joked with the boys, promising 
to go and see them, and to take them down to Marblehead 
in a coach. 

Saturday, lyth. The wind was light all day, which kept 
us back somewhat ; but a fine breeze springing up at night- 
fall, we were running fast in toward the land. At six o'clock 
we expected to have the ship hove-to for soundings, as a 
thick fog, coming up, showed we were near them ; but no 
order was given, and we kept on our way. Eight o'clock 
came, and the watch went below, and, for the whole of the 
first hour, the ship was tearing on, with studding-sails out, 
alow and aloft, and the night as dark as a pocket. At two 
bells the captain came on deck, and said a word to the mate, 
when the studding-sails were hauled into the tops, or boom- 
ended, the after yards backed, the deep-sea-lead carried 

386 



TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 387 

forward, and everything got ready for sounding. A man 
on the sprit-sail yard with the lead, another on the cat- 
head with a handful of the line coiled up, another in the 
fore chains, another in the waist, and another in the main 
chains, each with a quantity of the line coiled away in his 
hand. "All ready there, forward?" — "Aye, aye, sir!" 
— "He-e-ave!" — " Watch! ho! watch!" sings out the 
man on the sprit-sail yard, and the heavy lead drops into 
the water. "Watch ! ho ! watch !" bawls the man on the 
cat-head, as the last fake of the coil drops from his hand, 
and "Watch ! ho ! watch !" is shouted by each one as the 
line falls from his hold; until it comes to the mate, who 
tends the lead, and has the line in coils on the quarter- 
deck. Eighty fathonis, and no bottom ! A depth as great 
as the height of St. Peters ! The line is snatched in a block 
upon the swifter, and three or four men haul it in and coil 
it away. The after yards are braced full, the studding-sails 
hauled out again, and in a few minutes more the ship had 
her whole way upon her. At four bells, backed again, hove 
the lead, and — soundings ! at sixty fathoms ! Hurrah for 
Yankee land ! Hand over hand, we hauled the lead in, 
and the captain, taking it to the light, found black mud on 
the bottom. Studding-sails taken in ; after yards filled, and 
ship kept on under easy sail all night ; the wind dying away. 

The soundings on the American coast are so regular that a 
navigator knows as well where he has made land, by the 
soundings, as he would by seeing the land. Black mud is 
the soundings of Block Island. As you go toward Nan- 
tucket, it changes to a dark sand; then, sand and white 
shells; and on George's Banks, white sand; and so on. 
Being off Block Island, our course was due east, to Nan- 
tucket Shoals, and the South Channel ; but the wind died 
away and left us becalmed in a thick fog, in which we lay 
the whole of Sunday. At noon of 

Sunday, 18th. Block Island bore, by calculation, N. W. 
^ W. fifteen miles ; but the fog was so thick all day that we 
could see nothing. 



388 TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 

Having got through the ship's duty, and washed and 
shaved, we went below, and had a fine time overhauling 
our chests, laying aside the clothes we meant to go ashore 
in, and throwing overboard all that were worn out and good 
for nothing. Away went the woollen caps in which we had 
carried hides upon our heads, for sixteen months, on the 
coast of California; the duck frocks, for tarring down 
rigging ; and the worn-out and darned mittens and patched 
woollen trowsers which had stood the tug of Cape Horn. 
We hove them overboard with a good will; for there is 
nothing like being quit of the very last appendages and 
remnants of our evil fortune. We got our chests all ready 
for going ashore; ate the last "dufif" we expected to have 
on board the ship Alert; and talked as confidently about 
matters on shore as though our anchor were on the bottom. 

"Who'll go to church with me a week from to-day?" 

"I will," says Jack; who said aye to everything. 

"Go away, salt water !" says Tom. "As soon as I get 
both legs ashore, I'm going to shoe my heels, and button my 
ears behind me, and start off into the bush, a straight course, 
and not stop till I'm out of the sight of salt water !" 

" Oh ! belay that ! Spin that yarn where nobody knows 
your filling ! If you get once moored, stem and stern, in 

old B 's grog-shop, with a coal fire ahead and the bar 

under your lee, you won't see daylight for three weeks !" 

"No !" says Tom, "I'm going to knock off grog, and go 
and board at the Home, and see if they won't ship me for a 
deacon !" 

"And I," says Bill, "am going to buy a quadrant and 
ship for navigator of a Hingham packet ! " 

These and the like jokes served to pass the time while 
we were lying waiting for a breeze to clear up the fog and 
send us on our way. 

Toward night a moderate breeze sprang up; the fog 
however continuing as thick as before ; and we kept on to 
the eastward. About the middle of the first watch, a man 
on the forecastle sang out, in a tone which showed that there 



TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 389 

was not a moment to be lost, — "Hard up the helm !" and 
a great ship loomed up out of the fog, coming directly down 
upon us. She luffed at the same moment, and we just 
passed one another; our spanker boom grazing over her 
quarter. The officer of the deck had only time to hail, 
and she answered, as she went into the fog again, something 
about Bristol — probably, a whaleman from Bristol, 
Rhode Island, bound out. The fog continued through the 
night, with a very light breeze, before which we ran to the 
eastward, literally feeling our way along. The lead was 
heaved every two hours and the gradual change from black 
mud to sand showed that we were approaching Nantucket 
South Shoals. On Monday morning, the increased depth 
and deep blue color of the water, and the mixture of shells 
and white sand which we brought up, upon sounding, 
showed that we were in the channel, and nearing George's ; 
accordingly, the ship's head was put directly to the north- 
ward, and we stood on, with perfect confidence in the sound- 
ings, though we had not taken an observation for two days, 
nor seen land ; and the difference of an eighth of a mile out 
of the way might put us ashore. Throughout the day a 
provokingly light wind prevailed, and at eight o'clock, a 
small fishing schooner, which we passed, told us we were 
nearly abreast of Chatham lights. Just before midnight, 
a light land-breeze sprang up, which carried us well along ; 
and at four o'clock, thinking ourselves to the northward 
of Race Point, we hauled upon the wind and stood into the 
bay, north-north-west, for Boston light, and commenced 
firing guns for a pilot. Our watch went below at four 
o'clock, but could not sleep, for the watch on deck were 
banging away at the guns every few minutes. And, indeed, 
we cared very little about it, for we were in Boston Bay; 
and if fortune favored us, we could all "sleep in" the next 
night, with nobody to call the watch every four hours. 

We turned out, of our own will, at daybreak, to get a 
sight of land. In the grey of the morning, one or two small 
fishing smacks peered out of the mist ; and when the broad 



390 TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 

day broke upon us, there lay the low sand-hills of Cape Cod, 
over our larboard quarter, and before us, the wide waters 
of Massachusetts Bay, with here and there a sail gliding over 
its smooth surface. As we drew in toward the mouth of the 
harbor, as toward a focus, the vessels began to multiply, 
until the bay seemed actually alive with sails gliding about 
in every direction ; some on the wind, and others before it, 
as they were bound to or from the emporium of trade and 
centre of the bay. It was a stirring sight for us, who had 
been months on the ocean without seeing anything but two 
solitary sails ; and over two years without seeing more than 
the three or four traders on an almost desolate coast. There 
were the little coasters, bound to and from the various towns 
along the south shore, down in the bight of the bay, and to 
the eastward ; here and there a square-rigged vessel stand- 
ing out to seaward ; and, far in the distance, beyond Cape 
Ann, was the smoke of a steamer, stretching along in a nar- 
row, black cloud upon the water. Every sight was full of 
beauty and interest. We were coming back to our homes ; 
and the signs of civilization, and prosperity, and happiness, 
from which we had been so long banished, were multiplying 
about us. The high land of Cape Ann and the rocks and 
shore of Cohasset were full in sight, the light-houses, stand- 
ing like sentries in white before the harbors, and even the 
smoke from the chimneys on the plains of Hingham was seen 
rising slowly in the morning air. One of our boys was the 
son of a bucket-maker ; and his face lighted up as he saw the 
tops of the well-known hills which surroimd his native place. 
About ten o'clock a little boat came bobbing over the water, 
and put a pilot on board, and sheered off in pursuit of other 
vessels bound in. Being now within the scope of the tele- 
graph stations, our signals were run up at the fore, and in 
half an hour afterwards, the owner on 'change, or in his 
counting-room, knew that his ship was below ; and the land- 
lords, runners, and sharks in Ann street learned that there 
was a rich prize for them down in the bay : a ship from round 
the Horn, with a crew to be paid off with two years' wages. 



TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 391 

The wind continuing very light ; all hands were sent aloft 
to strip off the chafing gear; and battens, parcellings, 
roundings, hoops, mats, and leathers, came flying from aloft, 
and left the rigging neat and clean, stripped of all its sea 
bandaging. The last touch was put to the vessel by paint- 
ing the skysail poles; and I was sent up to the fore, with 
a bu(;Ji:et of white paint and a brush, and touched her off, 
from the truck to the eyes of the royal rigging. At noon, 
we lay becalmed off the lower light-house; and it being 
about slack water, we made little progress. A firing was 
heard in the direction of Hingham, and the pilot said there 
was a review there. The Hingham boy got wind of this, 
and said if the ship had been twelve hours sooner, he should 
have been down among the soldiers, and in the booths, and 
having a grand time. As it was, we had little prospect of 
getting in before night. About two o'clock a breeze sprang 
up ahead, from the westward, and we began beating up 
against it. A full-rigged brig was beating in at the same 
time, and we passed one another, in our tacks, sometimes 
one and sometimes the other, working to windward, as the 
wind and tide favored or opposed. It was my trick at the 
wheel from two till four ; and I stood my last helm, making 
between nine hundred and a thousand hours which I had 
spent at the helms of our two vessels. The tide beginning 
to set against us, we made slow work ; and the afternoon 
was nearly spent, before we got abreast of the inner light. 
In the mean time, several vessels were coming down, out- 
ward bound; among which, a fine, large ship, with yards 
squared, fair wind and fair tide, passed us like a race-horse, 
the men running out upon her yards to rig out the studding- 
sail booms. Towards sundown the wind came off in flaws, 
sometimes blowing very stiff, so that the pilot took in the 
royals, and then it died away ; when, in order to get us in 
before the tide became too strong, the royals were set again. 
As this kept us running up and down the rigging all the time, 
one hand was sent aloft at each mast-head, to stand-by to 
loose and furl the sails, at the moment of the order. I took 



392 TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 

my place at the fore, and loosed and furled the royal five 
times between Rainsford Island and the Castle. At one 
tack we ran so near to Rainsford Island, that, looking 
down from the royal yard, the island, with its hospital 
buildings, nice gravelled walks, and green plats, seemed 
to lie directly under our yard-arms. So close is the channel 
to some of these islands, that we ran the end of our flying- 
jib-boom over one of the out-works of the fortifications on 
George's Island ; and had an opportunity of seeing the ad- 
vantages of that point as a fortified place ; for, in working 
up the channel, we presented a fair stem and stern, for 
raking, from the batteries, three or four times. One gun 
might have knocked us to pieces. 

We had all set our hearts upon getting up to town before 
night and going ashore, but the tide beginning to run strong 
against us, and the wind, what there was of it, being ahead, 
we made but little by weather-bowing the tide, and the pilot 
gave orders to cock-bill the anchor and overhaul the chain. 
Making two long stretches, which brought us into the roads, 
under the lee of the Castle, he clewed up the topsails, and 
let go the anchor ; and for the first time since leaving San 
Diego — one hundred and thirty-five days — our anchor 
was upon bottom. In half an hour more, we were lying 
snugly, with all sails furled, safe in Boston harbor ; our long 
voyage ended ; the well-known scene about us ; the dome 
of the State House fading in the western sky ; the lights of 
the city starting into sight, as the darkness came on ; and 
at nine o'clock the clangor of the bells, ringing their accus- 
tomed peals ; among which the Boston boys tried to dis- 
tinguish the well-known tone of the Old South. 

We had just done furling the sails, when a beautiful little 
pleasure-boat luffed up into the wind, under our quarter, 
and the junior partner of the firm to which our ship be- 
longed, jumped on board. I saw him from the mizen top- 
sail yard, and knew him well. He shook the captain by 
the hand, and went down into the cabin, and in a few mo- 
ments came up and inquired of the mate for me. The last 



TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 393 

time I had seen him, I was in the uniform of an under-gradu- 
ate of Harvard College, and now, to his astonishment, 
there came down from aloft a "rough alley" looking fellow, 
with duck trowsers and red shirt, long hair, and face burnt 
as black as an Indian's. He shook me by the hand, con- 
gratulated me upon my return and my appearance of health 
and strength, and said my friends were all well. I thanked 
him for telling me what I should not have dared to ask ; and 
if — 

" the first bringer of unv/elcome news 

Hath but a losing office; and his tongue 
Sounds ever after like a sullen bell — " 

certainly I shall ever remember this man and his words with 
pleasure. 

The captain went up to town in the boat with Mr. H , 

and left us to pass another night on board ship, and to come 
up with the morning's tide under command of the pilot. 

So much did we feel ourselves to be already at home, in 
anticipation, that our plain supper of hard bread and salt 
beef was barely touched; and many on board, to whom 
this was the first voyage, could scarcely sleep. As for my- 
self, by one of those anomalous changes of feeling of which 
we are all the subjects, I found that I was in a state of in- 
difference, for which I could by no means account. A 
year before, while carrying hides on the coast, the assurance 
that in a twelvemonth we should see Boston, made me half 
wild; but now that I was actually there, and in sight of 
home, the emotions which I had so long anticipated feeling, 
I did not find, and in their place was a state of very nearly 
entire apathy. Something of the same experience was 
related to me by a sailor whose first voyage was one of five 
years upon the North-west Coast. He had left home, a lad, 
and after several years of very hard and trying experience 
found himself homeward bound ; and such was the excite- 
ment of his feelings that, during the whole passage, he could 
talk and think of nothing else but his arrival, and how and 



394 TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 

when he should jump from the vessel and take his way 
directly home. Yet when the vessel was made fast to the 
wharf and the crew dismissed, he seemed suddenly to lose 
all feeling about the matter. He told me that he went 
below and changed his dress; took some water from the 
scuttle-butt and washed himself leisurely; overhauled his 
chest, and put his clothes all in order ; took his pipe from 
its place, filled it, and sitting down upon his chest, smoked 
it slowly for the last time. Here he looked round upon the 
forecastle in which he had spent so many years, and being 
alone and his shipmates scattered, he began to feel actually 
unhappy. Home became almost a 'dream ; and it was not 
until his brother (who had heard of the ship's arrival) came 
down into the forecastle and told him of things at home, 
and who were waiting there to see him, that he could realize 
where he was, and feel interest enough to put him in motion 
toward that place for which he had longed, and of which he 
had dreamed, for years. There is probably so much of 
excitement in prolonged expectation, that the quiet realizing 
of it produces a momentary stagnation of feeling as well as 
of effort. It was a good deal so with me. The activity of 
preparation, the rapid progress of the ship, the first making 
land, the coming up the harbor, and old scenes breaking 
upon the view, produced a mental as well as bodily activity, 
from which the change to a perfect stillness, when both 
expectation and the necessity of labor failed, left a calmness, 
almost of indifference, from which I must be roused by some 
new excitement. And the next morning, when all hands 
were called, and we were busily at work, clearing the decks, 
and getting everything in readiness for going up to the 
wharves, — loading the guns for a salute, loosing the sails, 
and manning the windlass, — mind and body seemed to 
wake together. 

About ten o'clock, a sea-breeze sprang up, and the pilot 
gave orders to get the ship under weigh. All hands manned 
the windlass, and the long-drawn ''Yo, heave, ho !" which 
we had last heard dying away among the desolate hills of 



TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 395 

San Diego, soon brought the anchor to the bows ; and, with 
a fair wind and tide, a bright sunny morning, royals and sky- 
sails set, ensign, streamer, signals, and pennant, flying, and 
with our guns firing, we came swiftly and handsomely up to 
the city. Off the end of the wharf, we rounded-to and let 
go our anchor ; and no sooner was it on the bottom, than 
the decks were filled with people : custom-House officers ; 
Topliff's agent, to inquire for news; others, inquiring for 
friends on board, or left upon the coast ; dealers in grease, 
besieging the galley to make a bargain with the cook for 
his slush; "loafers" in general; and last and chief, board- 
ing-house runners, to secure their men. Nothing can exceed 
the obliging disposition of these runners, and the interest 
they take in a sailor returned from a long voyage with a 
plenty of money. Two or three of them, at different times, 
took me by the hand; remembered me perfectly; were 
quite sure I had boarded with them before I sailed; were 
delighted to see me back ; gave me their cards ; had a hand- 
cart waiting on the wharf, on purpose to take my things up ; 
would lend me a hand to get my chest ashore ; bring a bottle 
of grog on board if we did not haul in immediately, — and 
the like. In fact, we could hardly get clear of them, to go 
aloft and furl the sails. Sail after sail, for the hundredth 
time, in fair weather and in foul, we furled now for the last 
time together, and came down and took the warp ashore, 
manned the capstan, and with a chorus which waked up 
half the North End, and rang among the buildings in the 
dock, we hauled her in to the wharf. Here, too, the land- 
lords and runners were active and ready, taking a bar to 
the capstan, lending a hand at the ropes, laughing and 
talking and telling news. The city bells were just ringing 
one when the last turn was made fast, and the crew dis- 
missed; and in five minutes more, not a soul was left on 
board the good ship Alert, but the old ship-keeper, who had 
come down from the counting-house to take charge of her. 



CONCLUDING CHAPTER 

I TRUST that they who have followed me to the end of my 
narrative, will not refuse to carry their attention a little 
farther, to the concluding remarks which I here present to 
them. 

This chapter is written after the lapse of a considerable 
time since the end of my voyage, and after a return to my 
former pursuits ; and in it I design to offer those views of 
what may be done for seamen, and of what is already doing, 
which I have deduced from my experiences, and from the 
attention which I have since gladly given to the subject. 

The romantic interest which many take in the sea, and 
in those who live upon it, may be of use in exciting their 
attention to this subject, though I cannot but feel sure that 
all who have followed me in my narrative must be con- 
vinced that the sailor has no romance in his every-day life to 
sustain him, but that it is very much the same plain, matter- 
of-fact drudgery and hardship, which would be experienced 
on shore. If I have not produced this conviction, I have 
failed in persuading others of what my own experience has 
most fully impressed upon myself. 

There is a witchery in the sea, its songs and stories, and 
in the mere sight of a ship, and the sailor's dress, especially 
to a young mind, which has done more to man navies, and 
fill merchantmen, than all the pressgangs of Europe. I 
have known a young man with such a passion for the sea, 
that the very creaking of a block stirred up his imagination 
so that he could hardly keep his feet on dry ground ; and 
many are the boys, in every seaport, who are drawn away, 
as by an almost irresistible attraction, from their work and 
schools, and hang about the decks and yards of vessels, with 
a fondness which, it is plain, will have its way. No sooner, 

396. 



TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 397 

however, has the young sailor begun his new life in earnest, 
than all this fine drapery falls off, and he learns that it is 
but work and hardship, after all. This is the true light in 
which a sailor's life is to be viewed; and if in our books, 
and anniversary speeches, we would leave out much that 
is said about "blue water," ''blue jackets," "open hearts," 
"seeing God's hand on the deep," and so forth, and take this 
up like any other practical subject, I am quite sure we should 
do full as much for those we wish to benefit. The question 
is, what can be done for sailors, as they are, — men to be fed, 
and clothed, and lodged, for whom laws must be made and 
executed, and who are to be instructed in useful knowledge, 
and, above all, to be brought under religious influence and 
restraint? It is upon these topics that I wish to make a 
few observations. 

In the first place, I have no fancies about equality on 
board ship. It is a thing out of the question, and certainly, 
in the present state of mankind, not to be desired. I never 
knew a sailor who found fault with the orders and ranks 
of the service ; and if I expected to pass the rest of my life 
before the mast, I would not wish to have the power of the 
captain diminished an iota. It is absolutely necessary that 
there should be one head and one voice to control every- 
thing, and be responsible for everything. There are emer- 
gencies which require the instant exercise of extreme power. 
These emergencies do not allow of consultation ; and they 
who would be the captain's constituted advisers might be 
the very men over whom he would be called upon to exert 
his authority. It has been found necessary to vest in every 
government, even the most democratic, some extraordinary, 
and, at first sight, alarming powers; trusting in public 
opinion, and subsequent accountabihty, to modify the ex- 
ercise of them. These are provided to meet exigencies, 
which all hope may never occur, but which yet by possi- 
bility may occur, and if they should, and there were no 
power to meet them instantly, there would be an end put 
to the government at once. So it is with the authority of 



398 TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 

the shipmaster. It will not answer to say that he shall 
never do this and that thing, because it does not seem 
always necessary and advisable that it should be done. 
He has great cares and responsibihties ; is answerable for 
everything; and is subject to emergencies which perhaps 
no other man exercising authority among civilized people 
is subject to. Let him, then, have powers commensurate 
with his utmost possible need ; only let him be held strictly 
responsible for the exercise of them. Any other course 
would be injustice, as well as bad policy. 

In the treatment of those under his authority, the captain 
is amenable to the common law, like any other person. 
He is liable at common law for murder, assault and battery, 
and other offences ; and in addition to this, there is a special 
statute of the United States which makes a captain or other 
officer liable to imprisonment for a term not exceeding five 
years, and to a fine not exceeding a thousand dollars, for 
inflicting any cruel punishment upon, withholding food 
from, or in any other way maltreating a seaman. This 
is the state of the law on the subject; while the relation 
in which the parties stand, and the peculiar necessities, 
excuses, and provocations arising from that relation, are 
merely circumstances to be considered in each case. As 
to the restraints upon the master's exercise of power, the 
laws themselves seem, on the whole, to be sufficient. I do 
not see that we are in need, at present, of more legislation 
on the subject. The difficulty lies rather in the adminis- 
tration of the laws; and this is certainly a matter that 
deserves great consideration, and one of no little embarrass- 
ment. 

In the first place, the courts have said that public policy 
requires that the power of the master and officers should be 
sustained. Many lives and a great amount of property are 
constantly in their hands, for which they are strictly respon- 
sible. To preserve these, and to deal justly by the captain, 
and not lay upon him a really fearful responsibility, and then 
tie up his hands, it is essential that discipline should be 



TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 399 

supported. In the second place, there is always great 
allowance to be made for false swearing and exaggeration by 
seamen, and for combinations among them against their 
officers; and it is to be remembered that the latter have 
often no one to testify on their side. These are weighty 
and true statements, and should not be lost sight of by the 
friends of seamen. On the other hand, sailor-s make many 
complaints, some of which are well founded. 

On the subject of testimony, seamen labor under a difiS- 
culty full as great as that of the captain. It is a well-known 
fact, that they are usually much better treated when there 
are passengers on board. The presence of passengers is a 
restraint upon the captain, not only from his regard to their 
feelings and to the estimation in which they may hold him, 
but because he knows they will be influential witnesses 
against him if he is brought to trial. Though officers may 
sometimes be inclined to show themselves off before pas- 
sengers, by freaks of ofl&ce and authority, yet cruelty they 
would hardly dare to be guilty of. It is on long and distant 
voyages, where there is no restraint upon the captain, 
and none but the crew to testify against him, that sailors 
need most the protection of the law. On such voyages as 
these, there are many cases of outrageous cruelty on record, 
enough to make one heart-sick, and almost disgusted with 
the sight of man ; and many, many more, which have never 
come to light, and never will be known, until the sea shall 
give up its dead. Many of these have led to mutiny and 
piracy, — stripe for stripe, and blood for blood. If on 
voyages of this description the testimony of seamen is not 
to be received in favor of one another, or too great a deduc- 
tion is made on account of their being seamen, their case 
is without remedy ; and- the captain, knowing this, will be 
strengthened in that disposition to tyrannize which the 
possession of absolute power, without the restraints of 
friends and public opinion, is too apt to engender. 

It is to be considered, also, that the sailor comes into court 
under very different circumstances from the master. He is 



400 TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 

thrown among landlords, and sharks of all descriptions; 
is often led to drink freely; and comes upon the stand 
unaided, and under a certain cloud of suspicion as to his 
character and veracity. The captain, on the other hand, 
is backed by the owners and insurers, and has an air of 
greater respectability ; though, after all, he may have but 
a little better education than the sailor, and sometimes 
(especially among those engaged in certain voyages that I 
could mention), a very hackneyed conscience. 

These are the considerations most commonly brought up 
on the subject of seamen's evidence ; and I think it cannot 
but be obvious to every one that here, positive legislation 
would be of no manner of use. There can be no rule of law 
regulating the weight to be given to seamen's evidence. 
It must rest in the mind of the judge and jury ; and no enact- 
ment or positive rule of court could vary the result a hair, 
in any one case. The effect of a sailor's testimony in de- 
ciding a case must depend altogether upon the reputation 
of the class to which he belongs, and upon the impression 
he himself produces in court by his deportment, and by 
those infallible marks of character which always tell upon a 
jury. In fine, after all the well-meant and specious projects 
that have been brought forward, we seem driven back to 
the belief, that the best means of securing a fair admin- 
istration of the laws made for the protection of seamen, 
and certainly the only means which can create any impor- 
tant change for the better, is the gradual one of raising the 
intellectual and religious character of the sailor, so that as 
an individual, and as one of a class, he may, in the first 
instance, command the respect of his officers, and if any 
difficulty should happen, may upon the stand carry that 
weight which an intelligent and respectable man of the 
lower class almost always does with a jury. I know there 
are many men who, when a few cases of great hardship 
occur, and it is evident that there is an evil somewhere, 
think that some arrangement must be made, some law 
passed, or some society got up, to set all right at once. On 



TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 401 

this subject there can be no call for any such movement; 
on the contrary, I fully believe that any public and strong 
action would do harm, and that we must be satisfied to 
labor in the less easy and less exciting task of gradual im- 
provement, and abide the issue of things working slowly 
together for good. 

Equally injudicious would be any interference with the 
economy of the ship. The lodging, food, hours of sleep, etc., 
are all matters which, though capable of many changes for 
the better, must yet be left to regulate themselves. And 
I am confident that there will be, and that there is now a 
gradual improvement in all such particulars. The fore- 
castles of most of our ships are small, black, and wet holes, 
which few landsmen would believe held a crew of ten or 
twelve men on a voyage of months or years; and often, 
indeed in most cases, the provisions are not good enough to 
make a meal anything more than a necessary part of a 
day's duty ; ^ and on the score of sleep, I fully believe that 
the lives of merchant seamen are shortened by the want of 
it. I do not refer to those occasions when it is necessarily 
broken in upon; but, for months, during fine weather, in 

^ I am not sure that I have stated, in the course of my narrative, the 
manner in which sailors eat, on board ship. There are neither tables, 
knives, forks, nor plates, in a forecastle ; but the kid (a wooden tub, with 
iron hoops) is placed on the floor, and the crew sit round it, and each man 
cuts for himself with the common jack-knife or sheath-knife, that he car- 
ries about him. They drink their tea out of tin pots, holding little less 
than a quart each. v 

These particulars are not looked upon as hardships, and, indeed, may be 
considered matters of choice. Sailors, in our merchantmen, furnish their 
own eating utensils, as they do many of the instruments which they use in 
the ship's work, such as knives, palms and needles, marline-spikes, rubbers, 
etc. And considering their mode of life in other respects, the little time 
they would have for laying and clearing away a table with its apparatus, 
and the room it would take up in a forecastle, as well as the simple char- 
acter of their meals, consisting generally of only one piece of meat, — it is 
certainly a convenient method, and, as the kid and pans are usually kept 
perfectly clean, a neat and simple one. I had supposed these things to be 
generally known, until I heard, a few months ago, a lawyer of repute, who 
has had a good deal to do with marine cases, ask a sailor upon the stand 
whether the crew had " got up from table " when a certain thing happened. 



402 TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 

many merchantmen, all hands are kept, throughout the 
day, and, then, there are eight hours on deck for one watch 
each night. Thus it is usually the case that at the end of a 
voyage, where there has been the finest weather, and no 
disaster, the crew have a wearied and worn-out appearance. 
They never sleep longer than four hours at a time, and are 
seldom called without being really in need of more rest. 
There is no one thing that a sailor thinks more of as a luxury 
of life on shore, than a whole night's sleep. Still, all these 
things must be left to be gradually modified by circum- 
stances. Whenever hard cases occur, they should be made 
known, and masters and owners should be held answerable, 
and will, no doubt, in time, be influenced in their arrange- 
ments and discipline by the increased consideration in which 
sailors are held by the public. It is perfectly proper that 
the men should live in a different part of the vessel from 
the officers ; and if the forecastle is made large and com- 
fortable, there is no reason why the crew should not live 
there as well as in any other part. In fact, sailors prefer 
the forecastle. It is their accustomed place, and in it they 
are out of the sight and hearing of their officers. 

As to their food and sleep, there are laws, with heavy 
penalties, requiring a certain amount of stores to be on 
board, and safely stowed ; and, for depriving the crew un- 
necessarily of food or sleep, the captain is liable at common 
law, as well as under the statute before referred to. Farther 
than this, it would not be safe to go. The captain m.ust be 
the judge when it is necessary to keep his crew from their 
sleep ; and sometimes a retrenching, not of the necessaries, 
but of some of the little niceties of their meals, as, for in- 
stance, duff on Sunday, may be a mode of punishment, 
though I think generally an injudicious one. 

I could not do justice to this subject without noticing 
one part of the discipline of a ship, which has been very 
much discussed of late, and has brought out strong expres- 
sions of indignation from many, — I mean the infliction of 
corporal punishment. Those who have followed me in 



TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 403 

my narrative will remember that I was witness to an act of 
great cruelty inflicted upon my own shipmates ; and indeed 
I can sincerely say that the simple mention of the word 
flogging, brings up in me feehngs which I can hardly control. 
Yet, when the proposition is made to abolish it entirely and 
at once; to prohibit the captain from ever, under any 
circumstances, inflicting corporal punishment ;- 1 am obliged 
to pause, and, I must say, to doubt exceedingly the expe- 
diency of making any positive enactment which shall have 
that effect. If the design of those who are writing on this 
subject is merely to draw public attention to it, and to dis- 
courage the practice of flogging, and bring it into disrepute, 
it is well ; and, indeed, whatever may be the end they have 
in view, the mere agitation of the question will have that 
effect, and, so far, must do good. Yet I should not wish 
to take the command of a ship to-morrow, running my 
chance of a crew, as most masters must, and know, and have 
my crew know, that I could not, under any circumstances, 
inflict even moderate chastisement, I should trust that I 
might never have to resort to it; and, indeed, I scarcely 
know what risk I would not run, and to what inconvenience 
I would not subject myself, rather than do so. Yet not to 
have the power of holding it up in terrorem, and indeed of 
protecting myself, and all under my charge, by it, if some 
extreme case should arise, would be a situation I should not 
wish to be placed in myself, or to take the responsibility 
of placing another in. 

Indeed, the difficulties into which masters and officers 
are liable to be thrown, are not sufficiently considered by 
many whose sympathies are easily excited by stories, fre- 
quent enough, and true enough, of outrageous abuse of this 
power. It is to be remembered that more than three fourths 
of the seamen in our merchant vessels are foreigners. They 
are from all parts of the world. A great many from the 
north of Europe, beside Frenchmen, Spaniards, Portuguese, 
Italians, men from all parts of the Mediterranean, together 
with Lascars, Negroes, and, perhaps worst of all, the off- 



404 TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 

casts of British men-of-war, and men from our own country 
who have gone to sea because they could not be permitted 
to live on land. 

As things now are, many masters are obliged to sail with- 
out knowing anything of their crews, until they get out at 
sea. There may be pirates or mutineers among them; 
and one bad man will often infect all the rest; and it is 
almost certain that some of them will be ignorant foreigners, 
hardly understanding a word of our language, accustomed 
all their lives to no influence but force, and perhaps nearly 
as familiar with the use of the knife as with that of the mar- 
line-spike. No prudent master, however peaceably in- 
clined, would go to sea without his pistols and handcuffs. 
Even with such a crew as I have supposed, kindness and 
moderation would be the best policy, and the duty of every 
conscientious man ; and the administering of corporal pun- 
ishment might be dangerous, and of doubtful use. But the 
question is not, what a captain ought generally to do, 
but whether it shall be put out of the power of every captain, 
under any circumstances, to make use of, even moderate, 
chastisement. As the law now stands, a parent may correct 
moderately his child, and the master his apprentice; and 
the case of the shipmaster has been placed upon the same 
principle. The statutes, and the common law as expounded 
in the decisions of courts, and in the books of commentators, 
are express and unanimous to this point, that the captain 
may inflict moderate corporal chastisement, for a reasonable 
cause. If the punishment is excessive, or the cause not suflS.- 
cient to justify it, he is answerable; and the jury are to 
determine, by their verdict in each case, whether, under all 
the circumstances, the punishment was moderate, and for 
a justifiable cause. 

This seems to me to be as good a position as the whole 
subject can be left in. I mean to say, that no positive enact- 
ment, going beyond this, is needed, or would be a benefit 
either to masters or men, in the present state of things. 
This again would seem to be a case which should be left to 



TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 405 

the gradual working of its own cure. As seamen improve, 
punishment will become less necessary ; and as the character 
of officers is raised, they will be less ready to inflict it ; and, 
still more, the infliction of it upon intelligent and respect- 
able men, will be an enormity which will not be tolerated by 
public opinion, and by juries, who are the pulse of the body 
politic. No one can have a greater abhorrence of the in- 
fliction of such punishment than I have, and a stronger con- 
viction that severity is bad policy with a crew ; yet I would 
ask every reasonable man whether he had not better trust 
to the practice becoming unnecessary and disreputable; 
to the measure of moderate chastisement and a justifiable 
cause being better understood, and thus, the act becoming 
dangerous, and in course of time to be regarded as an un- 
heard-of barbarity — than to take the responsibility of 
prohibiting it, at once, in all cases, and in whatever degree, 
by positive enactment ? 

There is, however, one point connected with the adminis- 
tration of justice to seamen, to which I wish seriously to 
call the attention of those interested in their behalf, and, if 
possible, also of some of those concerned in that administra- 
tion. This is, the practice which prevails of making strong 
appeals to the jury in mitigation of damages, or to the judge, 
after a verdict has been rendered against a captain or 
officer, for a lenient sentence, on the grounds of their pre- 
vious good character, and of their being poor, and having 
friends and families depending upon them for support. 
These appeals have been allowed a weight which is almost 
incredible, and which, I think, works a greater hardship 
upon seamen than any one other thing in the laws, or the 
execution of them. Notwithstanding every advantage the 
captain has over the seaman in point of evidence, friends, 
money, and able counsel, it becomes apparent that he must 
fail in his defence. An appeal is then made to the jury, if 
it is a civil action, or to the judge for a mitigated sentence, 
if it is a criminal prosecution, on the two grounds I have men- 
tioned. The same form is usually gone through in every 



4o6 TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 

case. In the first place, as to the previous good character 
of the party. Witnesses are brought from the town in 
which he resides, to testify to his good character, and to his 
unexceptionable conduct when on shore. They say that he 
is a good father, or husband, or son, or neighbor, and that 
they never saw in him any signs of a cruel or tyrannical dis- 
position. I have even known evidence admitted to show 
the character he bore when a boy at school. The owners 
of the vessel, and other merchants, and perhaps the presi- 
dent of the insurance company, are then introduced; and 
they testify to his correct deportment, express their confi- 
dence in his honesty, and say that they have never seen 
anything in his conduct to justify a suspicion of his being 
capable of cruelty or tyranny. This evidence is then put 
together, and great stress is laid upon the extreme respecta- 
bility of those who give it. They are the companions and 
neighbors of the captain, it is said, — men who know him in 
his business and domestic relations, and who knew him in 
his early youth. They are also men of the highest standing 
in the community, and who, as the captain's employers, 
must be supposed to know his character. This testimony 
is then contrasted with that of some half dozen obscure 
sailors, who, the counsel will not forget to add, are exas- 
perated against the captain because he has found it neces- 
sary to punish them moderately, and who have combined 
against him, and if they have not fabricated a story entirely, 
have at least so exaggerated it, that little confidence can 
be placed in it. 

The next thing to be done is to show to the court and 
jury that the captain is a poor man, and has a wife and 
family, or other friends, depending upon him for support; 
that if he is fined, it will only be taking bread from the 
mouths of the innocent and helpless, and laying a burden 
upon them which their whole lives will not be able to work 
.off ; and that if he is imprisoned, the confinement, to be sure, 
he will have to bear, but the distress consequent upon the 
cutting him off from his labor and means of earning his 



TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 407 

wages, will fall upon a poor wife and helpless children, 
or upon an infirm parent. These two topics, well put, and 
urged home earnestly, seldom fail of their effect. 

In deprecation of this mode of proceeding, and in behalf 
of men who I beheve are every day wronged by it, I would 
urge a few considerations which seem to me to be con- 
clusive. 

First, as to the evidence of the good character the captain 
sustains on shore. It is to be remembered that masters of 
vessels have usually been brought up in a forecastle ; and 
upon all men, and especially upon those taken from lower 
situations, the conferring of absolute power is too apt to 
work a great change. There are many captains whom I 
know to be cruel and tyrannical mefn at sea, who yet, among 
their friends, and in their famihes, have never lost the repu- 
tation they bore in childhood. In fact, the sea-captain is 
seldom at home, and when he is, his stay is short, and during 
the continuance of it he is surrounded by friends who treat 
him with kindness and consideration, and he has everything 
to please, and at the same time to restrain him. He would 
be a brute indeed, if, after an absence of months or years, 
during his short stay, so short that the novelty and excite- 
ment of it has hardly time to wear off, and the attentions 
he receives as a visitor and stranger hardly time to slacken, 
— if, under such circumstances, a townsman or neighbor 
would be justified in testifying against his corrxt and 
peaceable deportment. With the owners of the vessel, 
also, to which he is attached, and among merchants and 
insurers generally, he is a very different man from ■ hat he 
may be at sea, when his own m'aster, and the master of 
everybody and everything about him. He knows that upon 
such men, and their good opinion of him, he depends for his 
bread. So far from their testimony being of any value in 
determining what his conduct would be at sea, one would 
expect that the master who would abuse and impose upon a 
man under his power, would be the most compliant and 
deferential to his employers at home. 



4o8 TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 

As to the appeal made in the captain's behalf on the 
ground of his being poor and having persons depending upon 
his labor for support, the main and fatal objection to it is, 
that it will cover every case of the kind, and exempt nearly 
the whole body of masters and officers from the punishment 
the law has provided for them. There are very few, if any, 
masters or other officers of merchantmen in our country, 
who are not poor men, and having either parents, wives, 
children, or other relatives, depending mainly or wholly 
upon their exertions for support in life. Few others follow 
the sea for subsistence. Now if this appeal is to have 
weight with courts in diminishing the penalty the law would 
otherwise inflict, is not the whole class under a privilege 
which will, in a degree, protect it in wrong-doing? It is 
not a thing that happens now and then. It is the invariable 
appeal, the last resort, of counsel, when everything else has 
failed. I have known cases of the most flagrant nature, 
where, after every effort has been made for the captain, 
and yet a verdict rendered against him, and all other hope 
failed, this appeal has been urged, and with such success 
that the punishment has been reduced to something little 
more than nominal ; the court not seeming to consider that 
it might be made in almost every such case that could come 
before them. It is a little singular too, that it seems to be 
confined to cases of shipmasters and officers. No one ever 
heard of a sentence, for an offence committed on shore, being 
reduced by the court on the ground of the prisoner's poverty, 
and the relation in which he may stand to third persons. 
On the contrary, it has been thought that the certainty 
that disgrace and suffering will be brought upon others 
as well as himself, is one of the chief restraints upon the 
criminally disposed. Besides, this course works a peculiar 
hardship in the case of the sailor. For if poverty is the point 
in question, the sailor is the poorer of the two ; and if there 
is a man on earth who depends upon whole limbs and an 
unbroken spirit for support, it is the sailor. He, too, has 
friends to whom his hard earnings maybe a relief, and whose 



TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 409 

hearts will bleed at any cruelty or indignity practised upon 
him. Yet I never knew this side of the case to be once 
adverted to in these arguments addressed to the leniency 
of the court, which are now so much in vogue ; and certainly 
they are never allowed a moment's consideration when a 
sailor is on trial for revolt, or for an injury done to an ofl&cer. 
Notwithstanding the many difficulties which He in a sea- 
man's way in a court of justice, presuming that they will 
be modified in time, there would be little to complain of, 
were it not for these two appeals. 

It is no cause of complaint that the testimony of seamen 
against their officers is viewed with suspicion, and that great 
allowance is made for combinations and exaggeration. 
On the contrary, it is the judge's duty to charge the jury 
on these points, strongly. But there is reason for objection, 
when, after a strict cross examination of witnesses, after the 
arguments of counsel, and the judge's charge, a verdict is 
found against the master, that the court should allow the 
practice of hearing appeals to its lenity, supported solely 
by evidence of the captain's good conduct when on shore 
(especially where the case is one in which no evidence but 
that of sailors could have been brought against the accused), 
and then, on this ground, and on the invariable claims of 
the wife and family, be induced to cut down essentially the 
penalty imposed by a statute made expressly for masters 
and officers of merchantmen, and for no one else. 

There are many particulars connected with the manning 
of vessels, the provisions given to crews, and the treatment 
of them while at sea, upon which there might be a good 
deal said ; but as I have, for the most part, remarked upon 
them as they came up in the course of my narrative, I will 
offer nothing further now, except on the single point of the 
manner of shipping men. This, it is well known, is usually 
left entirely to shipping-masters, and is a cause of a great 
deal of difficulty, which might be remedied by the captain, 
or owner, if he has any knowledge of seamen, attending to it 
personally. One of the members of the firm to which our 



41 o TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 

ship belonged, Mr. S , had been himself a master of a 

vessel, and generally selected the crew from a number sent 
down to him from the shipping-ofi&ce. In this way he 
almost always had healthy, serviceable, and respectable 
men ; for any one who has seen much of sailors can tell 
pretty well at first sight, by a man's dress, countenance, and 
deportment, what he would be on board ship. This same 
gentleman was also in the habit of seeing the crew together, 
and speaking to them previously to their sailing. On the 
day before our ship sailed, while the crew were getting their 
chests and clothes on board, he went down into the fore- 
castle and spoke to them about the voyage, the clothing 
they would need, the provision he had made for them, and 
saw that they had a lamp and a few other conveniences. 
If owners or masters would more generally take the same 
pains, they would often save their crews a good deal of in- 
convenience, beside creating a sense of satisfaction and 
gratitude, which mades a voyage begin under good auspices, 
and goes far toward keeping up a better state of feeling 
throughout its continuance. 

It only remains for me now to speak of the associated 
public efforts which have been making of late years for the 
good of seamen : a far more agreeable task than that of find- 
ing fault, even where fault there is. The exertions of the 
general association, called the American Seamen's Friend 
Society, and of the other smaller societies throughout the 
Union, have been a true blessing to the seaman; and bid 
fair, in course of time, to change the whole nature of the 
circumstances in which he is placed, and give him a new 
name, as well as a new character. These associations have 
taken hold in the right wa}^ and aimed both at making the 
sailor's Hfe more comfortable and creditable, and at giving 
him spiritual instruction. Connected with these efforts, 
the spread of temperance among seamen, by means of 
societies, called, in their own nautical language, Windward- 
Anchor Societies, and the distribution of books; the es- 
tablishment of Sailors' Homes, where they can be com- 



TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 411 

fortably and cheaply boarded, live quietly and decently, 
and be in the way of religious services, reading and con- 
versation; also the institution of Savings Banks for Sea- 
men ; the distribution of tracts and Bibles ; — are all means 
which are silently doing a great work for this class of men. 
These societies make the religious instruction of seamen 
their prominent object. If this is gained, there is no fear 
but that all other things necessary will be added unto them. 
A sailor never becomes interested in religion, without im- 
mediately learning to read, if he did not know how before ; 
and regular habits, forehandedness (if I may use the word) 
in worldly affairs, and hours reclaimed from indolence and 
vice, which follow in the wake of the converted man, make 
it sure that he will instruct himself in the knowledge neces- 
sary and suitable to his calling. The religious change is 
the great object. If this is secured, there is no fear but that 
knowledge of things of the world will come in fast enough. 
With the sailor, as with all other men in fact, the cultivation 
of the intellect, and the spread of what is commonly called 
useful knowledge, while religious instruction is neglected, 
is little else than changing an ignorant sinner into an 
intelligent and powerful one. That sailor upon whom, of 
all others, the preaching of the Cross is least likely to have 
effect, is the one whose understanding has been cultivated, 
while his heart has been left to its own devices. I fully 
believe that those efforts which have their end in the intel- 
lectual cultivation of the sailor; in giving him scientific 
knowledge; putting it in his power to read everything, 
without securing, first of all, a right heart which shall guide 
him in judgment ; in giving him political information, and 
interesting him in newspapers ; — an end in the furtherance 
of which he is exhibited at ladies' fairs and public meetings, 
and complimented for his gallantry and generosity, — are 
all doing a harm which the labors of many faithful men 
cannot undo. 

The estabUshment of Bethels in most of our own seaports, 
and in many foreign ports frequented by our vessels, where 



412 TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 

the gospel is regularly preached ; and the opening of " Sailors 
Homes," which I have before mentioned, where there are 
usually religious services and other good influences, are 
doing a vast deal in this cause. But it is to be remembered 
that the sailor's home is on the deep. Nearly all his life 
must be spent on board ship ; and to secure a rehgious in- 
fluence there, should be the great object. The distribution 
of Bibles and tracts into cabins and forecastles, will do much 
toward this. There is nothing which will gain a sailor's 
attention sooner, and interest him more deeply, than a 
tract, especially one which contains a story. It is difi&cult 
to engage their attention in mere essays and arguments, 
but the simplest and shortest story, in which home is spoken 
of, kind friends, a praying mother or sister, a sudden death, 
and the like, often touches the hearts of the roughest and 
most abandoned. The Bible is to the sailor a sacred book. 
It may lie in the bottom of his chest voyage after voyage ; 
but he never treats it with positive disrespect. I never 
knew but one sailor who doubted its being the inspired 
word of God ; and he was one who had received an uncom- 
monly good education, except that he had been brought up 
without any early religious influence. The most abandoned 
man of our crew, one Sunday morning, asked one of the boys 
to lend him his Bible. The boy said he would, but was 
afraid he would make sport of it. "No !" said the man, 
"I don't make sport of God Almighty." This is a feeling 
general among sailors, and is a good foundation for religious 
influence. 

A still greater gain is made whenever, by means of a 
captain who is interested in the eternal welfare of those un- 
der his command, there can be secured the performance of 
regular religious exercises, and the exertion, on the side of 
religion, of that mighty influence which a captain possesses 
for good, or for evil. There are occurrences at sea which he 
may turn to great account, — a sudden death, the appre- 
hension of danger, or the escape from it, and the like ; and 
all the calls for gratitude and faith. Besides, this state of 



TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 413 

things alters the whole current of feeling between the crew 
and their commander. His authority assumes more of the 
parental character; and kinder feelings exist. Godwin, 
though an infidel, in one of his novels, describing the rela- 
tion in which a tutor stood to his pupil, says that the con- 
viction the tutor was under, that he and his ward were both 
alike awaiting a state of eternal happiness or misery, and 
that they must appear together before the same judg- 
ment-seat, operated so upon his naturally morose disposi- 
tion, as to produce a feeling of kindness and tenderness 
toward his ward, which nothing else could have caused. 
Such must be the effect upon the relation of master and 
common seaman. 

There are now many vessels sailing under such auspices, 
in which great good is done. Yet I never happened to fall 
in with one of them. I did not hear a prayer made, a chap- 
ter read in public, nor see anything approaching to a reli- 
gious service, for two years and a quarter. There were, in 
the course of the voyage, niany incidents which made, for 
the time, serious impressions upon our minds, and which 
might have been turned to our good ; but there being no one 
to use the opportunity, and no services, the regular return 
of which might have kept something of the feeling alive in 
us, the advantage of them was lost, to some, perhaps, 
forever. 

The good which a single religious captain may do can 
hardly be calculated. In the first place, as I have said, a 
kinder state of feeling exists on board the ship. There is no 
profanity allowed ; and the men are not called by any op- 
probrious names, which is a great thing with sailors. The 
Sabbath is observed. This gives the men a day of rest, 
even if they pass it in no other way. Such a captain, too, 
will not allow a sailor on board his ship to remain unable 
to read his Bible and the books given to him ; and will 
usually instruct those who need it, in writing, arithmetic, 
and navigation; since he has a good deal of time on his 
hands, which he can easily employ in such a manner. He 



414 TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 

will also have regular religious services ; and, in fact, by the 
power of his example, and, where it can judiciously be done, 
by the exercise of his authority, will give a character to the 
ship, and all on board. In foreign ports, a ship is known by 
her captain ; for, there being no general rules in the mer- 
chant service, each master may adopt a plan of his own. 
It is to be remembered, too, that there are, in most ships, 
boys of a tender age, whose characters for hfe are forming, 
as well as old men, whose lives must be drawing toward a 
close. The greater part of sailors die at sea ; and when they 
find their end approaching, if it does not, as is often the case, 
come without warning, they cannot, as on shore, send for a 
clergyman, or some religious friend, to speak to them of 
that hope in a Saviour, which they have neglected, if not 
despised, through life ; but if the little hull does not contain 
such an one within its compass, they must be left without 
human aid in their great extremity. When such command- 
ers and such ships, as I have just described, shall become 
more numerous, the hope of the friends of seamen will be 
greatly strengthened; and it is encouraging to remember 
that the efforts among common sailors will soon raise up 
such a class ; for those of them who are brought under these 
influences will inevitably be the ones to succeed to the places 
of trust and authority. If there is on earth an instance 
where a little leaven may leaven the whole lump, it is that 
of the religious ship-master. 

It is to the progress of this work among seamen that we 
must look with the greatest confidence for the remedying 
of those numerous minor evils and abuses that we so often 
hear of. It will raise the character of sailors, both as 
individuals and as a class. It will give weight to their 
testimony in courts of justice, secure better usage to them 
on board ship, and add comforts to their lives on shore and 
at sea. There are some laws that can be passed to remove 
temptation from their way and to help them in their prog- 
ress; and some changes in the jurisdiction of the lower 
courts, to prevent delays, may, and probably will be made. 



TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 415 

But generally speaking, more especially in things which 
concern the discipHne of ships, we had better labor in this 
great work, and view with caution the proposal of new laws 
and arbitrary regulations, remembering that most of those 
concerned in the making of them must necessarily be little 
qualified to judge of their operation. 

Without any formal dedication of my narrative to that 
body of men, of whose common life it is intended to be a 
picture, I have yet borne them constantly in mind during 
its preparation. I cannot but trust that those of them, into 
whose hands it may chance to fall, will find in it that which 
shall render any professions of sympathy and good wishes 
on my part unnecessary. And I will take the liberty, on 
parting with my reader, who has gone down with us to the 
ocean, and "laid his hand upon its mane," to commend to 
his kind wishes, and to the benefit of his efforts, that class 
of men with whom, for a time, my lot was cast. I wish the 
rather to do this, since I feel that whatever attention this 
book may gain, and whatever favor it may find, I shall owe 
almost entirely to that interest in the sea, and those who 
follow it, which is so easily excited in us all. 



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